Passenger rail news – Page 131
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NewsCAF coaches to enter service with Caledonian Sleeper in October
UK: The coaches which CAF is building in Spain for use on Caledonian Sleeper trains between Scotland and London are expected to begin entering passenger service during October, the operator said after the first five vehicles arrived in the UK on January 15. The new stock will initially be used ...
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NewsBallarat Line upgrading contract signed
AUSTRALIA: Upgrading and capacity enhancement works on the Melbourne – Ballarat line in Victoria are to be completed by late 2019, under a A$551·7m contract announced on January 16. Funded by the state and federal governments, as part of the A$1·6bn Regional Rail Revival initiative, the project is being managed ...
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NewsWarszawa EMU tenders opened
POLAND: Pesa has been named as the lowest bidder for a contract to supply electric multiple-units to suburban train operator SKM Warszawa. The tender covers the supply and maintenance for 15 years of eight five-car EMUs and five four-car units, with options covering a further seven five-car units and one ...
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NewsAcademy to support Ethiopian railway operations
ETHIOPIA: Work is to start later this year on the construction of a railway training academy, Ethiopian Railways Corp announced on January 13. When fully operational, the academy is expected to employ around 250 teachers and administrative staff, training up to 1 00 students at a time in seven different ...
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NewsBLS signs its largest rolling stock contract
SWITZERLAND: A firm order for the supply of 52 six-car Flirt electric multiple-units was signed by BLS Chief Executive Bernard Guillelmon and Stadler President Peter Spuhler on January 15. Stadler had been named preferred bidder for the operator’s largest-ever rolling stock contract in May 2017, beating a rival offer from ...
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NewsBrightline launches higher-speed inter-city service
USA: The first privately-operated scheduled passenger trains since the early 1980s began running on January 13, when Brightline launched an introductory service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale in southern Florida. Brightline operates over the tracks of the Florida East Coast Railway, which have been rebuilt and upgraded for ...
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NewsMetronom retains Hanze-Netz operating contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender which attracted several bids, the Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover transport authorities have jointly awarded incumbent Metronom the next contract to operate Hanse-Netz and Uelzen-Göttingen passenger services. The contract runs from December 2018 until December 2033 and covers five services: RE2 Göttingen – Hannover – ...
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NewsNS seeks return to contract operating market
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is ready to restart submitting bids for Dutch regional passenger operating contracts, Chief Executive Roger van Boxtel said in an interview with the Volkskrant newspaper last month. NS had announced in 2016 that it would focus on the core long-distance rail network and would no ...
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NewsRegions recommend flexible approach to TER tendering
FRANCE: Recommendations on the approach that the government should adopt in legislation to allow regional passenger services to be put out to tender were published by the organisation representing regional authorities on January 9. Régions de France had conducted a series of hearings between March and July 2017, taking evidence ...
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NewsQbuzz selected for Dutch rail and bus operating contract
NETHERLANDS: The province of Zuid-Holland announced on January 10 that it had selected the Qbuzz subsidiary of FS Group’s Busitalia business as preferred bidder for a contract which combines the operation of MerwedeLingelijn services on the Geldermalsen – Dordrecht route with the provision of local bus services. EBS and incumbent ...
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NewsSNCF plans TGV efficiency drive to compete with air and bus
FRANCE: National rail operator SNCF is planning to restructure its high speed operations over the next three years to improve fleet utilisation and facilitate the withdrawal of its oldest TGV trainsets. According to the head of Voyages SNCF Rachel Picard, the changes are expected to reduce operating costs by between ...
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NewsNewag selected to supply 20 electric locos to PKP IC
POLAND: PKP Intercity has selected Newag as preferred bidder to supply and maintain 20 electric locomotives, with options for up to 10 more. Deliveries are due to be completed within 30 months of contract signature. The tender specifies that the 160 km/h locos must have at least 95% availability. ...
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NewsCRRC to supply 200 Roca EMU cars
ARGENTINA: Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich has given his approval for an order to be placed directly with CRRC Qingdao Sifang of China for the supply of 200 EMU cars for the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires, with an estimated cost of US$316∙5m. Joining a fleet of 42 EMUs previously ...
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NewsJerusalem A1 fast line opening date announced
ISRAEL: The newly built A1 fast line to Jerusalem will open on March 30, Transport Minister Israel Katz has announced. Only one of the two tracks electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz will be operational at first, limiting services to two trains per hour in each direction. The previously announced ...
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NewsSuburban services introduced to Beijing
CHINA: Beijing Suburban Railway Co inaugurated two services on December 31 linking the capital with its outer suburbs. The Sub Central Line links Beijing Xi with the sub-administrative centre of Tongzhou to the east of the city. Services run from Beijing Xi to Beijing main station through the 9·2 ...
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NewsBetter franchise design could have reduced TSGN disruption, says NAO
UK: Some of the extensive disruption experienced by passengers on the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise over the last three years could have been avoided if the Department for Transport had taken more care to consider passengers in its design of the franchise, head of the National Audit Office ...
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NewsMendrisio – Varese cross-border services begin
EUROPE: Regional train operator TILO began revenue passenger services on the 17·7 km cross-border line between Mendrisio in Switzerland and Varese in Italy on January 7. This followed an inauguration ceremony on December 22, when guests included President of the Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard, Italian Minister of Transport Graziano Delrio, ...
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NewsBourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est order multiple-units
FRANCE: Firm orders with a total value of €100m covering the supply of 14 more Coradia Polyvalent multiple-units to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est regions were announced by Alstom on January 8. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté has ordered eight four-car electric multiple-units, known as Régiolis by SNCF, while Grand Est has opted for ...
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NewsPoznań Metropolitan Railway to launch this year
POLAND: The creation of a network of regular local passenger services centred on Poznań is to begin this year, after the local authorities reached a funding agreement in December. Poznań Metropolitan Railway services are to be operated by voivodship-owned company Koleje Wielkopolskie. The initial phase is expected to launch in ...
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NewsJakarta airport rail link inaugurated
INDONESIA: The 36·4 km rail link to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport began full commercial operation on January 2, following a formal inauguration by President Joko Widodo. Trial services had been launched on December 26 to promote the new line. A 12 km branch has been built to connect the airport ...