Passenger rail news – Page 110
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NewsAmtrak orders long-distance Chargers
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak has ordered 75 SC-44 Charger locomotives from Siemens Mobility to start the renewal of its long-distance motive power fleet. Under the $744m contract announced on December 21, the locomotives are to be assembled at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, for delivery between mid-2021 and the ...
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NewsCosta Rica commuter DMU order
COSTA RICA: National railway company Incofer has named CRRC Qingdao Sifang as the winner of a contract to supply eight two-car diesel multiple-units for use on commuter services in San José. The contract is valued at US$32·7m, and the supplier will also maintain the trains for three years. Deliveries are ...
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NewsSBB orders Seagulls
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has awarded Stadler a SFr65m contract to supply seven four-car electric multiple-units for use on the Bern – La Chaux-de-Fonds route, where services are to be transferred from BLS to the national operator in December 2020. The EMUs from Stadler’s Flirt family are to be branded ...
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Rail Business UKRENFE joins MTR’s West Coast Partnership bid team
UK: MTR Corp announced on December 20 that Spanish national operator RENFE had joined its bid for the West Coast Partnership franchise. The Department for Transport invited three shortlisted bidders to tender for WCP in March this year. The contract will cover operation of inter-city services on the West Coast ...
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NewsCentral PPK orders Metrowagonmash DMUs
RUSSIA: Central Suburban Passenger Co has awarded Transmashholding subsidiary Metrowagonmash a contract to supply 23 newly designed RA-3 diesel multiple-units, to be financed by Sberbank Leasing. The agreement was signed on December 5. An initial 17 two-car DMUs are scheduled to be delivered between August and November ...
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NewsHeavy freight locomotive delivered
AZERBAIJAN: National railway ADY has taken delivery of the first of 40 Prima T8 AZ8A twin-section 25 kV AC heavy freight locomotives ordered for use on the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars corridor. The EKZ joint venture of Alstom (75%) and Transmashholding (25%), which is based at Astana in Kazakhstan, ...
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NewsDMUs to bring a ‘qualitative quantum leap’ for Bayerische Oberlandbahn
GERMANY: Bayerische Oberlandbahn has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 25 two-car Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units, which it plans to use from mid-2020 on the regional routes running south from München to Holzkirchen, Lenggries, Tegernsee and Bayrischzell. They are expected to replace the Jenbach-built Integral DMUs introduced ...
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NewsCFL orders EMUs with ‘a concentration of the latest innovations’
LUXEMBOURG: National railway CFL has awarded Alstom a €360m contract to supply 34 Coradia regional high-capacity double-deck electric multiple-units from December 2021. The order announced on December 18 includes 80 m and 160 m long units with a maximum speed of 160 km/h. Designed for 25 kV 50 Hz operation, ...
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NewsBayerische Oberlandbahn wins Chiemgau-Berchtesgaden operating contract
GERMANY: Following an open tender, Bayern railway agency BEG has awarded the Chiemgau-Berchtesgaden passenger operating contract to Transdev company Bayerische Oberlandbahn. The contract covers operations on the 19 km Freilassing – Berchtesgaden line for 15 years from December 2021, and on the 13 km Traunstein – Ruhpolding branch for 14 ...
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NewsFerlemann demands ‘fundamental reform’ of DB
GERMANY: State Secretary for Transport Enak Ferlemann has instructed Deutsche Bahn to come up with a proposal for a revised business structure that would deliver a higher level of performance. Calling for initial proposals to be made available in January, he told Welt am Sonntag that he expected the DB ...
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NewsAcciona backs open access high speed project
SPAIN: Prospects for on-rail competition in the high speed market have increased, with Madrid-based international construction group Acciona expected to take a majority stake in open-access promoter Intermodalidad de Levante SA. Founded by Valencia-based regional airline Air Nostrum, ILSA has applied to launch a twice-daily Madrid – Montpellier service, calling ...
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NewsLVMH buys luxury train operator
INTERNATIONAL: High-end wine, fashion, cosmetics, hotel and retail group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Belmond, which owns or manages 46 hotel, restaurant, train and cruise brands including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, British Pullman, Royal Scotsman, Grand Hibernian, Andean Explorer, Hiram Bingham and ...
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NewsRussian Railways presents platskartny modernisation concept
RUSSIA: The future look of Russian Railways’ platskartny coaches which offer the cheapest and most basic accommodation on very long-distance services was unveiled at the Transport Week exhibition and conference in Moscow last month. On show was two-window mock-up of part of a coach for visitors to inspect and comment ...
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NewsMÁV-Start signs EMU order
HUNGARY: A firm order for Stadler to supply a further eight Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units was signed by national passenger operator MÁV-Start on December 17. The six-car EMUs are to be used on the Budapest – Vác – Szob and Budapest – Cegléd – Szolnok routes from the first ...
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NewsPresident launches Yucatan rail project
MEXICO: The Tren Maya project to develop two rail corridors serving the Yucatan Peninsula was formally launched on December 16 by recently-elected President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with a ceremony near the ancient Mayan ruins at Palenque. Expected to take four years to build, the project envisages the development of ...
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NewsCzech long-distance operating contracts announced
CZECH REPUBLIC: Liberalisation of the Czech long-distance passenger market took a major step forward on November 30 when the Ministry of Transport selected operators to run subsidised services on three routes from December 2019, when the current 10-year contract with state incumbent ČD expires. RegioJet has won an eight-year contract ...
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NewsLeo Express wins regional contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Pardubice region has selected Leo Express to run subsidised services on the 024 Ústí nad Orlicí–Mlýnický Dvůr and 025 Dolní Lipka – Hanušovice routes currently operated by ČD. Leo Express’s first subsidised public service contract is to run for 10 years from December 2019. It plans ...
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NewsSOB orders more Flirts
SWITZERLAND: A firm order for Stadler to supply Schweizerische Südostbahn with a further 12 Flirt electric multiple-units was signed in St Gallen on December 13. The latest option to be exercised covers seven eight-car Flirt Traverso long-distance units with a copper-coloured livery, and five four-car silver-coloured Flirt regional EMUs. ...
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NewsNJ Transit orders double-deck EMUs from Bombardier
USA: A firm order for 113 double-deck EMU cars was approved by the NJ Transit board on December 12. A base contract will be placed with Bombardier Transportation for what the commuter rail operator claims will be ‘the first self-propelled multilevel railcars in the USA’. The contract ...
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NewsJR East unveils first ALFA-X driving car
JAPAN: The first driving car bodyshell for East Japan Railway’s Series 956 high speed test train was unveiled in Kobe on December 12. Being manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the 10-car trainset is expected to begin test running in May. Designated ALFA-X for Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail ...