Passenger rail news – Page 126
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NewsGrand Central unveils refurbished train
UK: The first of 10 Alstom Class 180 inter-city diesel multiple-units to be refurbished by Arriva TrainCare under a £9m programme was unveiled by open access operator Grand Central on April 3. The full interior refresh includes new seats with leather edging in standard class, new floor coverings throughout, an ...
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NewsTransPennine Express Nova 3 fleet on test
UK: Now undergoing trials at the Velim test track in the Czech Republic is a set of Mark 5A locomotive-hauled coaches destined for inter-city services across the north of England operated by TransPennine Express. Due to enter service later this year, the set is part of a 13-strong fleet of ...
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NewsDutch railway extension crosses the sea wall
NETHERLANDS: The first passenger service ran to a new station at the port of Eemshaven north of Groningen on March 28. The northernmost station in the country will be served by five trains per day in the high season and three in the low season, operated by Arriva as an ...
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NewsCambodia opens Thai border rail link
CAMBODIA: Passenger services have been launched on the reinstated 48 km section of the line between provincial capital Sisophon and Poipet on the border with Thailand. The service operated by national railway concessionaire Royal Railway was inaugurated by Minister of Public Works & Transportation Sun Chanthol an April 4. There ...
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NewsSlovenian Railways to order Stadler multiple-units
SLOVENIA: The supervisory board of national operator SŽ approved the award of a contract for the supply of 25 multiple-units at its meeting on April 3. Signing of the €170m contract is subject to final approval from the state’s asset holding company. This follows a tendering process ...
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NewsSpanish rail spend up 25%
SPAIN: On April 3 Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna presented his department’s budget for 2018, including rail spending of €4∙3bn which represents 48∙3% of total investment. According to ministry, the rail total is up 25∙6% on the year before. During 2018, the Ministry of Development is planning to spend ...
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NewsAccessibility upgrade for VIA Rail long-distance fleet
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail has awarded Bombardier Transportation a C$54m contract to upgrade 17 coaches used on long-distance services to bring them into line with current and planned accessibility standards. The stainless steel bodied coaches dating from the 1950s will be equipped with two wheelchair lifts, two accessible ...
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NewsAlstom awarded two DMU contracts
GERMANY: Alstom announced two orders to supply a total of 25 Coradia Lint regional diesel multiple-units from its Salzgitter factory on March 29. DB Regio Bayern has placed a €93m order for eight Coradia Lint 41 DMUs with 125 seats and 12 of the longer Coradia Lint 54 units with ...
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NewsRhätische Bahn replaces ticket machines
SWITZERLAND: Scheidt & Bachmann is supplying Rhätische Bahn with 97 replacement ticket vending machines offering similar functionality to those used by Swiss Federal Railways. Passengers can select German, French, Italian and English language options. The TVMs can provide bank notes as well as coins in change for cash payments, and ...
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NewsEurostar selects Sqills distribution and reservation software
EUROPE: Dutch ticketing software company Sqills is providing its S3 Passenger sales, distribution and reservation suite for international high speed train operator Eurostar. ‘As Eurostar grows beyond 10 million passengers per year and we expand our reach further into Europe, having a flexible reservation system is critical’, said the operator’s ...
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NewsAppenzeller Bahnen takes deliveries of EMU and LRV
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Appenzeller Bahnen recently took delivery of two vehicles ordered as part of the St Gallen Durchmesserlinie project. On March 27 Appenzeller Bahnen took delivery of the first of five ABe4/12 electric multiple-units ordered from Stadler for SFr40m in 2016. This is due to enter revenue service ...
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NewsGo-Ahead prepares for German launch
GERMANY: The first of 45 Flirt3 electric multiple units ordered by UK-based transport group Go-Ahead as part of its entry into the German passenger market has been completed at Stadler’s Pankow factory in Berlin. In November 2015 the Land of Baden-Württemberg selected Go-Ahead for the Stuttgart Netz Lot 1b (Rems–Fils) ...
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NewsGWR to manage Heathrow Express service
UK: The Heathrow Express premium airport service between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport is to continue running until at least 2028 under a new agreement announced on March 28. The non-franchised service is currently operated in-house by Heathrow Airport Ltd, which will continue to own the service and be responsible ...
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NewsWest Coast Partnership invitations to tender issued
UK: The Department for Transport issued invitations to tender for the West Coast Partnership franchise on March 27. The contract will cover the operation of InterCity West Coast services from September 15 2019 until 2031, and the planning of the initial service on High Speed 2 in partnership with project ...
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NewsAtocha Phase 2 unveiled
SPAIN: Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna has unveiled plans for the second phase of a capacity expansion programme at Madrid Atocha station, designed by architect Rafael Moneo. In preparation for the opening of the 1 435 mm gauge tunnel under Madrid to Chamartín, built at a cost of €322m ...
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NewsWaratah Series 2 EMU delivered
AUSTRALIA: The first of 24 eight-car Waratah Series 2 double-deck suburban electric multiple-units has been delivered to Sydney. The new fleet is expected to be in service by early 2019. Ordered from Downer EDI in December 2016 under the New South Wales government’s A$1·5bn ‘More Trains, More Services’ programme, the ...
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NewsVästtrafik selects Bombardier to supply EMUs
SWEDEN: Västra Götaland transport authority Västtrafik has selected Bombardier Transportation as the winner of a SKr3·8bn contract to supply 40 three-car electric multiple-units for regional passenger services. The order is intended to support an increase in ridership to 130 000 passengers/day by 2035, triple the number carried in 2006. The ...
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NewsMARC operating contract extended
USA: Maryland Transit Administration has awarded Bombardier Transportation a $288m five-year extension to its contract to operate the Maryland Area Regional Commuter network’s Brunswick and Camden lines. The existing contract awarded in 2012 covers the operation and maintenance of the fleet of diesel locomotives and coaches, including Bombardier vehicles, as ...
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NewsTrenitalia orders regional EMUs
ITALY: National passenger operator Trenitalia has awarded Alstom four contracts to supply a total of 54 electric multiple-units for use in the Abruzzo (four EMUs), Liguria (15), Marche (four) and Veneto (31) regions. The orders with a total value of around €330m have been placed within a August 2016 framework ...
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NewsCeremony marks completion of XRL main works
CHINA: The substantial completion of main construction works for the 26 km Hong Kong section of the 142 km Guangzhou – Shenzhen – Hong Kong Express Rail Link was marked with a ceremony at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station on March 23. MTR Corp Chairman Professor Frederick Ma said construction ...