Passenger rail news – Page 142
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NewsDB Regio retains re-routed RB27 contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, the Rheinland, Rhein-Ruhr and Rheinland-Pfalz Nord transport authorities announced on June 30 that they had selected incumbent DB Regio NRW for the next contract to operate passenger service RB27 from Mönchengladbach to Köln and Koblenz. The contract runs for seven years from December 2019 and ...
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NewsSaudi Arabia invites interest in operating its rail network
SAUDI ARABIA: The national Public Transport Authority has invited international railway operators and investors to express interest in forming a long-term partnership to operate the country’s rail network. The process forms part of the Saudi Vision 2030 programme, which aims to increase the role of the private sector in the ...
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NewsBern station expansion gets underway
SWITZERLAND: A long-discussed project to expand the main station in Bern was officially launched on July 3, following completion of the planning approval process on June 26. The Zukunft Bahnhof Bern project is intended to provide much-needed capacity increases in several areas, as both the SBB through station and the ...
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NewsFirst Giruno runs through the Gotthard Base Tunnel
SWITZERLAND: A Stadler EC250 Giruno trainset ran through the Gotthard Base Tunnel for the first time during testing on July 2. The manufacturer said that the test run at a maximum speed of 100 km/h had been a 'complete success', demonstrating that the design meets the standards required to operate ...
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NewsSNCF opens two high speed lines in one day
FRANCE: More than 500 km of new high speed line were officially opened on July 1, when SNCF operated special trains on LGV Sud Europe Atlantique and LGV Bretagne – Pays de la Loire, ahead of the start of commercial services the following day. Taking part in the events were ...
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NewsA ticket to ride
‘The complex reality of managing the back office processes of the modern passenger railway can sometimes be overlooked’, suggests Nick Kingsley.
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NewsSwiss signalling commissioned on French metre-gauge line
FRANCE: A project to install automatic signalling on the French section of the metre-gauge line linking St Gervais and Vallorcine in France with Martigny in Switzerland has been completed, with a full passenger service restarting on June 24. The 37 km between St Gervais and Vallorcine has been equipped ...
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NewsRussian Railways orders updated platskartny coaches
RUSSIA: Russian Railways has decided to order a new batch of platskartny coaches, its most basic style of long-distance rolling stock. RZD had been concerned that the open-plan dormitory-style accommodation in the third class cars was no longer attractive to passengers, and had been considering only ordering sleeping cars with ...
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NewsPassenger assistance to be stepped up as NGR EMUs enter service
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Rail is to recruit additional station staff to assist mobility-impaired passengers using the six-car EMUs being supplied to Queensland Rail under the New Generation Rollingstock PPP concession. The first of 75 sets are now expected to enter service later this year, CEO Nick Easy confirmed on June 27. ...
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NewsVirgin Trains East Coast making a loss, Stagecoach confirms
UK: New commercial terms for the InterCity East Coast franchise are being discussed with the Department for Transport, Virgin Trains East Coast’s majority owner Stagecoach Group confirmed on June 28. Announcing its preliminary results for the year to April 29 2017, Stagecoach said it expected to finalise new commercial terms ...
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NewsFuxing China standard high speed trainsets enter service
CHINA: Two designs of China Standard Electric Multiple-Unit officially entered service on the Beijing – Shanghai high speed line on June 26, following an extensive programme of test running. Services were launched when a CRRC Sifang CR400AF Blue Dolphin trainset departed from Beijing South station at 11.05 while a CRRC ...
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NewsAirline veteran Richard Anderson to head Amtrak
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak named Richard Anderson as its next President & Chief Executive on June 26. The former CEO of Delta and Northwest Airlines will take up the post on July 12, acting as co-CEO with incumbent Wick Moorman until December 31. Moorman had joined Amtrak in September ...
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News500th Vectron locomotive ordered
CZECH REPUBLIC: European Locomotive Leasing has awarded Siemens a contract to supply a further eight Vectron electric locomotives. The locomotives will be rated at 6·4 MW and have a maximum speed of 200 km/h. ELL is to lease them to České Dráhy for use hauling Praha – Berlin EuroCity passenger ...
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NewsDSB finds buyer for AnsaldoBreda IC2 DMUs
DENMARK: National operator DSB reached an agreement to sell 15 of its 23 AnsaldoBreda IC2 diesel multiple-units on June 16. The two-car DMUs were withdrawn from service last year after a troubled history. DSB is selling the DMUs ‘as is’ with no warranty. The unnamed buyer has initially acquired three ...
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NewsArriva wins Pågatåg operating contract
SWEDEN: Regional transport authority Skånetrafiken announced on June 22 that it had selected Arriva for the next contract to operate Pågatåg passenger services in the Skåne area of southern Sweden. The SKr5bn contract runs for eight years from December 9 2018, when the current contract which has been held by ...
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NewsGibb report into improving Southern performance published
UK: A report providing recommendations for improving the performance of train services across the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise was published by the Department for Transport on June 22. The report was commissioned last year from Network Rail non-executive director and career railwayman Chris Gibb, following the sustained ...
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NewsCatania upgrading progresses
ITALY: The first stage of the Passante Catania project opened on June 18. The project is being undertaken to enable the operation of frequent suburban services across the city from Taormina in the north to Letini in the south via Catania Centrale. The €100m first phase, delivered by infrastructure ...
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NewsThree shortlisted for West Coast Partnership franchise
UK: The shortlisted bidders for the West Coast Partnership franchise were announced by the Department for Transport on June 22. They are: First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd, a joint venture between FirstGroup’s First Rail Holdings Ltd (70%) and Italian state operator Trenitalia SpA (30%); MTR West Coast Partnership Ltd, ...
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NewsSouth Eastern franchise bidders announced
UK: The Department for Transport announced the shortlisted bidders for the next South Eastern passenger franchise on June 22. They are: South Eastern Holdings Ltd (NS’s Abellio Transport Group, East Japan Railway and Mitsui & Co); London & South East Passenger Rail Services Ltd (Govia 65:35 joint venture of Go-Ahead ...
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NewsCRRC to supply commuter coaches to Montréal
CANADA: CRRC Tangshan has been awarded a contract to supply 24 double-deck hauled coaches to operate on commuter services serving Montréal. The coaches are to be deployed on the Deux-Montagnes line, ahead of the opening of the Réseau Électrique Métropolitain light metro. The coaches are also expected to replace ...