Passenger rail news – Page 128
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NewsIsrael Railways signs Siemens EMU contract
ISRAEL: A contract worth up to €900m for Siemens to supply to Israel Railways with up to 60 four-car and six-car Desiro HC double-deck electric multiple-units over 10 years was signed in Lod on March 7. This includes a firm order for the supply of an initial ...
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NewsFlixTrain to launch Köln – Hamburg service this month
GERMANY: FlixMobility is to launch a FlixTrain-branded open access service on the Köln – Hamburg route on March 24, taking over the rolling stock formerly used by Hamburg-Köln-Express which suspended operation last year. The Berlin – Stuttgart open access service, originally launched by Locomore and is now operated by LEO ...
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NewsVIA Rail fleet replacement funded
CANADA: Funding for the procurement of 32 push-pull trainsets to replace the locomotive-hauled stock which VIA Rail operates on the Québec – Montréal – Toronto – Windsor corridor was confirmed in the 2018 federal budget presented by Minister of Finance Bill Morneau on February 27. The value was not released, ...
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NewsAmtrak awarded five-year MARC Penn Line contract
USA: Maryland Department of Transportation MTA has awarded Amtrak a five-year contract to continue to operate MARC Penn Line commuter services on a 124 km route between Washington, DC, and Perryville, Maryland. Amtrak said it had faced ‘strong competitors with excellent reputations’ during the tendering process, and had won the ...
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NewsMoscow Central Diameter rolling stock supplier selected
RUSSIA: Central Suburban Passenger Co selected sole bidder Tver Carriage Works for a contract to supply rolling stock to operate on Moscow Central Diameter routes on March 5. Central PPK was previously selected to operate services on the RER-style network which is being developed to link existing radial rail ...
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NewsLEO Express plans major expansion
EUROPE: Czech open access operator LEO Express has announced a significant expansion of its services this year, as part of its ambitions to become a major player in the Central European market. On April 1 a thrice-weekly service is scheduled to start between Praha and Kraków, a route which LEO ...
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NewsSydney to get second airport rail link
AUSTRALIA: The federal and New South Wales state governments have agreed to build a rail link to serve the planned Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, which is expected to open in 2026. Launching the Western Sydney City Deal on March 4, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and NSW Premier Gladys ...
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First Coradia trainset in Africa enters service
ALGERIA: Minister of Public Works & Transport Abdelghani Zalene attended a ceremony on March 2 to open buildings at Alger’s Agha station and mark the entry into service of national railway SNTF’s first Alstom Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple-unit. Public services between Alger and Oran were scheduled to start the following ...
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NewsElectrification envisaged in Ireland's 10-year transport plan
IRELAND: Suburban electrification, main line upgrading and new rolling stock are among the transport improvements envisaged in the government’s 2018-27 National Development Plan published on February 16. The €2bn DART Expansion Programme proposes a series of enhancements to the Dublin suburban network, ahead of the construction of the long-planned cross-city ...
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NewsD-Trains ordered for Bedford – Bletchley
UK: Vivarail has reached an agreement to supply three two-car Class 230 D-Train diesel-electric multiple-units to West Midlands Trains for operation from December on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley. Vivarail’s D-Train uses aluminium bodyshells and bogies from former D78 metro trainsets withdrawn from service by London Underground. ...
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News'Passengers want to be able to download an app and travel'
It is an ‘exciting time’ for smart ticketing, Rambus Ticketing Managing Director Russell McCullagh told Railway Gazette International at the Transport Ticketing Global 2018 conference in London.
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NewsSBB’s Twindexx EMUs enter service
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways ran the first of its fleet of Bombardier Transportation Twindexx double-deck electric multiple-units in commercial service on February 26. The first train was IR2368, the 11.55 from Zürich to Olten and Bern. When SBB signed a contract with Bombardier on May 12 2010 for 59 double-deck ...
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NewsDebt burden tempers SNCF growth in 2017
FRANCE: Announcing its results for 2017 on February 27, SNCF Group reported revenue of €33∙5bn, up 4∙2% on the year before ‘thanks to commercial momentum’ driving strong growth in passenger and freight traffic. Combined with ‘strict financial discipline’ and a cost-cutting programme that generated €830m of savings in 2017, this ...
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NewsEurostar reports a £58m profit
EUROPE: Eurostar International Ltd has reported a preliminary unaudited operating profit of £57∙6m for 2017, with sales revenue up 11% at £880m from £794m the year before. Passenger-journeys were up 3% at 10∙3 million from 10 million in 2016. 'Last year we saw a real revival in the US market ...
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NewsFootbridges to reduce station congestion
INDIA: Three new footbridges intended to reduce congestion at key stations on the Mumbai suburban network were formally commissioned on February 27, at a ceremony attended by Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. The bridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivili have ...
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NewsQbuzz awarded Dutch bus and rail operating contact
NETHERLANDS: The Qbuzz subsidiary of FS Group company Busitalia has been formally awarded its first combined main line rail and bus operating contract in the Netherlands. The concession covers bus services in Drechtsteden, Alblasserwaard and Vijfheerenlanden municipalities in the area between Utrecht and Rotterdam, as well as the MerwedeLingelijn regional ...
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NewsDB Rail Academy starts Brazilian training programme
BRAZIL: Working with local sector organisations, DB Engineering & Consulting has launched the country’s first internationally certified training programme for rail and logistics managers. Under the DB Rail Academy programme, an initial tranche of 35 managers from rail freight and passenger operators began an 18-month course in Brasilia on February ...
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NewsDB opens carbon-neutral ICE depot
GERMANY: DB inaugurated a carbon-neutral ICE depot in the Nippes area of Köln on February 23. The 23 ha site is expected to reduce energy equivalent to 1 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year through various features, including geothermal heating and cooling. A 180 m2 solar heating ...
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NewsRSSB calls for a more scientific approach to train seat comfort
UK: The Rail Safety & Standards Board has called for a more scientific approach to measuring train seat comfort, with the aim of developing specifications which manufacturers could use alongside requirements for crashworthiness and fire safety. This would take into account factors including shape, cushioning, material choice, lumbar support, vibration, ...
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NewsAbellio pulls out of Wales & Borders bidding
UK: Abellio Rail Cymru withdrew from bidding for the next Wales & Borders franchise on February 22, leaving KeolisAmey and MTR Corp (Cymru) Ltd as the two remaining bidders. NS subsidiary Abellio had been bidding for the Wales & Borders Operator & Development Partner contract in consortium with Carillion. Franchising ...