Passenger rail news – Page 140
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NewsAmtrak and Lyft announce partnership
USA: Passengers can now use the Amtrak mobile app to access rideshare company Lyft’s app to book first and last mile travel to and from a station. Announcing the partnership on August 1, Amtrak said Lyft operates in more than 360 locations, covering 80% of the population and 97% of ...
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NewsLocomore insolvency proceedings begin
GERMANY: Partly crowd-funded open access operator Locomore announced on August 2 that insolvency proceedings had opened the previous day. The company said it was still trying to find a positive solution to its problems, but train services would remain suspended ‘until further notice’. Locomore launched a daily return service between ...
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NewsStadler completes first US-assembled Flirt
USA: Stadler has completed the first Flirt multiple-unit to be assembled in the USA at its plant at North Salt Lake in Utah. The DMU for the TEX Rail project will be officially unveiled at the ATPA Expo in Atlanta in October. In 2015 the Fort Worth Transportation Authority ...
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NewsInner Mongolia high speed line opens
CHINA: Revenue services on the 126 km Hohhot – Ulanqab section of the future Hohhot – Zhangjiakou high speed line in Inner Mongolia began on August 3. Trial running had begun on June 29. Construction of the 287 km Hohhot –Zhangjiakou line started in April 2014, and revenue services on ...
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NewsZSSK awards Mravec DMU conversion contract
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK has awarded ŽOS Zvolen a €11m contract to convert Class 810/011 railcars and non-powered trailers into eight Class 813/913.1 two-car diesel multiple-units for use on regional services in central Slovakia. Deliveries are scheduled by the end of 2017. To be branded Mravec (‘ant’), each DMU ...
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NewsFrench regions prepare for market opening
FRANCE: Plans for the progressive introduction of competitive tendering in the regional passenger market have been confirmed by the government, and the proposals will be included in transport legislation due to be published in the first half of 2018. The organisation which represents the regions of France has told the ...
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NewsDMUs modernised for ‘state-of-the-art ambience and contemporary comfort’
GERMANY: The first of 26 Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units which Alstom is modernising for Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG is expected to return to service with EVB this month. By December 2019 there will be 15 upgraded DMUs in use on EVB’s Elbe-Weser services and 11 on Nordwestbahn’s Weser-/Lammetalbahn route. ...
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NewsSaudi Railway Co traffic grows
SAUDI ARABIA: North–South Railway operator Saudi Railway Co reports that it carried 4·06 million tonnes of phosphate and bauxite in the first half of 2017, a 27% increase on the same period in 2016. Each SAR freight train comprises three EMD locomotives and more than 160 wagons supplied by The ...
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NewsTGV resurgence in SNCF first half results
FRANCE: The SNCF group reported a €119m net profit in the first six months of 2017, driven by strong growth in high speed ridership.Amid concerns about the competitive threat facing the French national operator from long-distance buses and ride-sharing apps, SNCF reported on July 28 that overall group revenue was ...
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NewsElectric-battery multiple-units planned for Auckland
NEW ZEALAND: An order for 17 electric multiple-units equipped with batteries for off-wire operation between Papakura and Pukekohe has been approved in principle by Auckland Council’s Finance & Performance Committee. The units would be supplied by CAF, which has already delivered 57 three-car Class AM 25 kV 50 Hz suburban ...
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NewsDigital Railcard app roll-out
UK: The roll-out of smartphone app versions of Railcards which offer discounts on fares is to begin shortly and start with the 16-25 Railcard, the Rail Delivery Group announced on July 29. The Network Railcard will follow later this summer, with the full range to be available ...
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NewsConnecticut awards Hartford Line operating contract
USA: Connecticut Department of Transportation has awarded a joint venture of TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts a $45m contract to operate CTrail Hartford Line commuter services between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield for five years from the expected launch in May 2018. TASI/ACI will be responsible for operating the ...
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NewsFive new stations funded
UK: The allocation of £16m from the New Stations Fund to enable to the construction of five stations was announced by the Department for Transport on July 28. All of the stations will be fully accessible and are scheduled for completion by March 2020. This is the second round of ...
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NewsRegions lobby for direct Berlin – Wrocław train
EUROPE: A special train service ran from Berlin to Wrocław on July 15 to highlight the desire of city and regional authorities on both sides of the German-Polish border to see the reintroduction of regular through services. The EuroCity service between the cities was withdrawn in December 2014. Jürgen Murach, ...
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NewsSeattle welcomes BiLevel cab car
USA: The first of nine Bombardier BiLevel cab cars ordered by Sound Transit in 2014 arrived in Seattle on July 24. It is due to enter passenger service in September. Sound Transit ordered the vehicles to augment its fleet of 18 Bombardier cab cars that entered service in 2000-03, ...
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NewsMetrolinx launches search for Toronto Regional Express Rail operator
CANADA: Greater Toronto transport agency Metrolinx has begun the process to appoint an ‘experienced’ operator to support planning and implementation of the GO Regional Express Rail project and subsequently take responsibility for operation of the services. The existing operations and maintenance contract with Bombardier is expected to remain in place ...
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NewsSardinia and Trenitalia sign performance-based operating contract
ITALY: Sardinia’s regional government and Trenitalia signed a nine-year contract for the operation of standard gauge rail services on the island on July 26. This defines the services to be provided through to 2025, and requires delivery of new rolling stock, an increase in commuter services and closer integration between ...
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NewsLocation technology to be incorporated into National Rail Enquiries app
UK: Proxama plc’s mobile location data technology is to be embedded into the National Rail Enquiries journey planning apps under an agreement signed with the Rail Delivery Group. This will generate anonymised consumer data which Proxama’s platform will monetise through the sale of premium audience and attribution products and services. ...
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NewsDB has the wind in its sails but its feet on the ground
GERMANY: ‘We can feel the wind in our sails, but we still have our feet firmly planted on the ground’, said Deutsche Bahn Chief Executive Dr Richard Lutz when presenting the group’s results for the first six months of 2017 on July 26. Lutz said the figures from the first ...
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NewsMerger of Hohenzollerische Landesbahn and SWEG approved
GERMANY: Plans to merge local transport operators Hohenzollerische Landesbahn and Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs with effect from January 1 2018 were approved on July 24 by the Sigmaringen and Zollernalbkreis district authorities which hold 14% stakes in HzL. Approval had already been granted by the Land of Baden-Württemberg which owns 100% of ...