Passenger rail news – Page 112
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NewsImpuls purchases by voivodships
POLAND: Lubuskie voivodship has awarded Newag a 43m złoty contract to supply two three-car diesel multiple-units by the end of 2020. Ordered to increase capacity on the Krzyż – Gorzów Wielkopolski – Berlin corridor, the 130 km/h TSI-compliant units will have a capacity of almost 400 passengers including 150 seats. ...
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NewsNew York MTA to acquire Grand Central Terminal
USA: New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has agreed to purchase Grand Central Terminal and sections of the Hudson and Harlem commuter rail lines, correcting what it terms a ‘historical quirk’ of New York infrastructure ownership. The acquisitions, valued at $35m, were approved at an MTA finance committee meeting in mid-November. ...
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NewsGlacier Express reveals Excellence Class coaches
SWITZERLAND: Two coaches which have been upgraded to provide a premium ‘Excellence Class’ on the tourist-focused Glacier Express service have been unveiled by operating partners Rhätische Bahn and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn. The interiors were designed by Nose Design Experience, and refitting of the coaches provided by RhB and MGB was ...
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Rail Business UKSix short-term priorities for London rail services
UK: The London Assembly’s Transport Committee published a report on November 26 setting out what it sees as the short-term priorities for heavy rail services in the capital. Broken Rails: A Rail Service Fit for Passengers makes six recommendations: 1. Effective small-scale interventions: The committee’s key recommendation is that infrastructure ...
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NewsMarmaray corridor to open in Q1 2019, minister says
TURKEY: Transport Minister Cahit Turhan provided a progress update on November 16 on three new line projects as they near completion under the railway investment Master Plan. The government’s priority is completion of the surface works along the Marmaray corridor which runs across Istanbul from Gebze on the Asian side ...
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NewsVästtrafik increases EMU order
SWEDEN: Västra Götaland transport authority Västtrafik announced an order for a further five Bombardier Transportation Zefiro Express electric multiple-units on November 22. The order has been placed as an option on a SKr3·8bn contract for an initial 40 of the units which was announced in March and included ...
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NewsTalgo selected for Latvian EMU contract
LATVIA: National passenger operator Pasazieru Vilciens has selected Talgo to supply a fleet of 32 electric multiple-units for suburban and regional services, CEO Rodzers Janis Grigulis announced on November 21. Formal award of the contract is expected to follow the 10-day regulatory standstill period. The Talgo VitTal EMUs are to ...
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NewsHydrogen train operation planned
GERMANY: The Länder of Brandenburg and Berlin are planning the joint award of a contract for the development and operation of hydrogen fuel cell powered trains on the RB27 Heidekrautbahn route. The proposed contract would start in December 2022 and run for 15 years, a length selected to provide experience ...
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NewsFNM orders diesel-battery multiple-units
ITALY: A framework agreement for Stadler to supply Lombardia regional operator FNM with between 30 and 50 battery-equipped 140 km/h diesel multiple-units for use on Ferrovienord services was signed in Milano on November 21. The agreement runs for eight years with a value of €6·395m per unit, and envisages the ...
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NewsNiedersachsen awards fleet refurbishment contract
GERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has awarded manufacturer Bombardier Transportation a €80m contract to modernise a total of 51 double-deck coaches and 37 Traxx electric and diesel locomotives. The work is to be undertaken at Bombardier's Hennigsdorf and Kassel plants, with an initial 11 pre-series vehicles to be completed by ...
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News‘Broad coalition’ needed to deliver HS2
UK: ‘It will take a broad coalition involving us, the supply chain and local and national government to deliver this project’, Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of government high speed rail project delivery company HS2 Ltd told the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group on November 20. He was updating parliamentarians on progress ...
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NewsOperator selected for CDG Express airport rail link
FRANCE: The government has selected the Hello Paris consortium of Keolis and RATP Dev as preferred bidder for the concession to operate the future CDG Express airport rail link, the Ministry of Sustainable Development announced on November 19. Keolis said the consortium expected to sign the contract before the end ...
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NewsHauts-de-France EMU order
FRANCE: Acting on behalf of the Hauts-de-France region, SNCF has awarded Bombardier Transportation a firm order to supply 19 Omneo Premium double-deck inter-city electric multiple-units. The order announced on November 19 has been placed within a 2010 framework covering up to 860 Omneo/Regio 2N units and is valued at €256m, ...
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News‘Serious challenges’ facing California high speed programme
USA: The programme to build a high speed rail network through California linking Los Angeles with the San Francisco Bay Area is facing ‘serious challenges’, according to a report issued by the state auditor on November 15. Many of the risks relate to California High Speed Rail Authority’s decision to ...
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NewsVirgin Trains USA formed by Virgin Group and Brightline
USA: A strategic partnership and trademark licensing agreement for the launch of Virgin Trains USA was announced by Virgin Group and private-sector inter-city train operator Brightline on November 16. Subject to certain closing conditions, Virgin Group is to make a minority investment in Brightline, which will be managed and operated ...
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NewsThree shortlisted for DSB coach contract
DENMARK: Bombardier, Siemens and Talgo have prequalified for a contract to supply locomotive-hauled coaches primarily intended for use on international services to Hamburg, national passenger operator DSB announced on November 16. The contract would cover an initial eight rakes of coaches with a capacity of least 440 passengers per rake, ...
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NewsPrivate funding needed under C$6bn VIA Rail investment plan
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail says that private-sector backing will be needed to support an investment programme worth more than C$6bn over the next decade. Chief Executive Yves Desjardins-Siciliano told the Terrapinn World Rail Festival conference in Amsterdam on November 13 that VIA Rail’s most pressing priority is to ...
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NewsMultiple-units ordered under Chile’s rail modernisation strategy
CHILE: National operator EFE has awarded Chinese company CRRC Sifang a US$77m contract to supply 13 multiple-units for use on the Biotren, Corto Laja and Victoria – Temuco services operated by its Fesur subsidiary. The order covers a total of 10 three-car EMUs for the 65 km Biotren suburban network ...
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NewsSNCF to sell Ouibus to BlaBlaCar in multimodal partnership
FRANCE: SNCF is to sell its loss-making Ouibus long-distance coach operations to the digital ride-sharing specialist BlaBlaCar under a multimodal development partnership announced on November 12. After a decade of head-to-head competition, the national railway has entered exclusive negotiations with the ‘leading French start-up in the mobility sector’. While the ...
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Concerns raised over passenger rights changes
EUROPE: The European Passengers’ Federation and the ALLRAIL association of new market entrants have called for mandatory protection for passengers making multi-leg journeys using separate tickets to be included in the recast of EU regulation COM(2017)0548 covering rail passengers’ rights. This would mean that if a connection were missed as ...