Passenger rail news – Page 129
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NewsSagaRail targets low-cost weekend market
SWEDEN: Private open access company SagaRail ran its first service on February 23. The company is initially offering one return service between Stockholm and Linköping on Fridays and Sundays, running via Nyköping and Norrköping with a journey time of around 2 h. SagaRail is the ‘traffic organiser’, and has awarded ...
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NewsGWR leads the pack at 20th Rail Business Awards
UK: Great Western Railway was announced as Rail Business of the Year and ScotRail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes was named Industry Leader of the Year at the 20th Rail Business Awards. Hosted by Railway Gazette at London’s Hilton hotel on Park Lane on February 22, the event bought together ...
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NewsFive consortia shortlisted for Cross River Rail
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland state government has shortlisted ‘a strong field of national and multinational companies’ to bid for the two main works packages to build and equip the A$5·4bn Cross River Rail link in Brisbane, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad announced on February 20. The Cross River Rail Delivery Authority invited ...
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NewsBaku suburban railway planned
AZERBAIJAN: Funding is to be provided for the development of a circular suburban rail service on the Abşeron Peninsula from 2019, President Ilham Aliyev announced on January 29. The 100m manat project will include upgrading the existing railway between Baku and Sumqayıt via Biläcarı, as well as bringing back into ...
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NewsSagami Railway Series 20000 enters service
JAPAN: Sagami Railway put into service on February 11 the first of its Series 20000 EMUs, which have been designed for future through running to Tokyo. Sotetsu Corp has ordered a fleet of six 10-car and nine eight-car Series 20000 EMUs to replace its older Series 7000 units. Built at ...
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NewsEurostar runs Amsterdam preview service to mark start of ticket sales
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar ran a preview service between London St Pancras and Amsterdam Centraal on February 20, to mark the opening of ticket sales for the regular twice-daily service which is scheduled to begin on April 4. Conveying invited guests and travel industry representatives, the 08.31 ...
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NewsGreater Anglia Aventra EMUs under construction in Derby
UK: Bombardier Transportation’s Derby plant has begun production of the first of 111 Class 720 Aventra electric multiple-units for Greater Anglia, the operator announced on February 20. The £900m order financed by Angel Trains and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which was finalised in September 2016, covers 89 five-car and 22 ...
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NewsCtrip Group to sell South Korean rail tickets
SOUTH KOREA: Accommodation, ticketing, package tour and corporate travel booking company Ctrip Group has begun offering Korean rail tickets in its customers’ local languages, starting with sales through Trip.com in 13 languages. This is Korail’s first partnership with a third-party booking website, according to Ahn Byeong Ho, Senior Executive Director, ...
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NewsTransilien double-deck EMUs ordered
FRANCE: SNCF has placed a firm order for a further nine Bombardier Transportation Regio 2N double-deck electric multiple-units, acting on behalf of greater Paris public transport authority Ile-de-France Mobilités. The order announced on February 19 is worth €96m, including ‘price escalations based on best faith assessment of assumptions’. The ...
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NewsMelbourne opens elevated rail alignment
AUSTRALIA: Revenue services began operating on a new elevated alignment through the Melbourne suburb of Noble Park on February 15, when the Victoria state government’s Level Crossing Removal Authority commissioned the first section of viaduct on the Cranbourne-Pakenham line. A 2·7 km section of the city’s busiest suburban line through ...
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NewsTransitio orders double-deck EMUs
SWEDEN: Local authority owned rolling stock procurement body AB Transitio has signed a firm order for eight Stadler double-deck electric multiple-units for use on Upptåget services from the end of 2019. The firm order announced by Stadler on February 14 has been placed as an option on a 2016 contract ...
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NewsTrump budget plans to halve federal subsidy to Amtrak
USA: The formal 2019 financial year budget issued by President Donald Trump on February 12 includes plans to cut federal subsidy to Amtrak by almost half. The proposed budget, which would take effect from October 1, would see federal support payments for Amtrak reduced from $1·5bn to $738m. The savings ...
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NewsFlytoget’s first CAF Oaris trainset nears completion
NORWAY: Dynamic testing with the first of eight four-car Oaris trainsets that CAF is building for Norwegian operator Flytoget is due to begin in April. One set will travel to Velim in the Czech Republic for trials before the trains enter service on Flytoget’s Airport Express service between Gardermoen Airport ...
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NewsEurostar to launch London – Amsterdam service in April
EUROPE: Direct London – Amsterdam high speed services will begin on April 4, cross-channel high speed operator Eurostar announced on February 9. Offering a journey time of 3 h 41 min between London St Pancras and Amsterdam Centraal, Eurostar will run an initial two trains per day. However, there will ...
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NewsHigh speed operator accepts takeover bid
ITALY: Open access high speed train operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori SpA announced on February 7 that its shareholders had decided to accept a €1·98bn takeover bid from international fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners III. The deal was ratified by a board meeting the following day, which also confirmed that NTV ...
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NewsEurostar aims to tread more lightly with new environmental targets
EUROPE: Eurostar marked the 10th anniversary of its Tread Lightly environmental programme with the unveiling on February 6 of an ‘ambitious’ 10 point plan to reduce its environmental impact. CEO Nicolas Petrovic said the high speed train operator had already achieved a 32% reduction in carbon emissions through Tread Lightly, ...
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NewsEva to offer 100%-connected high speed at low cost
SPAIN: On February 6 Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna unveiled Eva, a smart train concept that national operator RENFE is due introduce in high speed service between Madrid and Barcelona in 2019. Having captured 65% of the combined rail and air market between the two cities, RENFE is now ...
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NewsVirgin Trains East Coast franchise to end within months
UK: InterCity East Coast franchisee Virgin Trains East Coast has breached ‘a key financial covenant’ and cannot be expected to continue for more than a few months, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told parliament on February 5. The VTEC joint venture of Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin (10%) has ‘met all its ...
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NewsTalgo to convert night trains for high speed day use
SPAIN: RENFE has awarded Talgo a €107m contract to convert Series 7 Tren Hotel overnight trainsets into high speed day trains capable of operation at up to 330 km/h. The contract, approved on February 5, covers 13 trainsets totalling 156 coaches. An option for a further six sets totalling 72 ...
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NewsAbellio joins East Midlands franchise shortlist
UK: Abellio, Arriva, incumbent Stagecoach and a joint venture of FirstGroup and Trenitalia are on the latest shortlist to receive invitations to tender for the next East Midlands franchise, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling told parliament on February 5. Abellio had not been included on the previous shortlist ...