Passenger rail news – Page 146
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NewsPolRegio receives first Pesa Link DMU
POLAND: Pesa officially handed over the first of a batch of Link diesel multiple-units to national local passenger operator PolRegio in Warszawa on April 27. PolRegio placed an order in February for three two-car DMUs for 37·6m zloty, with options for two more at 25·1m złoty. Pesa was the ...
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NewsRegioJet partners with GKB to enter the Austrian market
AUSTRIA: Czech open access operator RegioJet is to enter the Austrian passenger market with the launch of four daily Wien – Břeclav – Brno – Praha return services from the December 2017 timetable change. The inter-city services would have ‘the best prices on the market’, RegioJet said, with its onboard ...
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NewsRoslagsbanan narrow gauge EMU contract signed
SWEDEN: A SFr232m contract for Stadler to supply Stockholm transport authority SL with 22 custom-designed three-car electric multiple-units for the 891 mm gauge Roslagbanan suburban line has been signed. Deliveries are scheduled for 2020, with entry into service in 2022. There is an option for a further 45 units. Stadler ...
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NewsAubin Grove station opens
AUSTRALIA: Aubin Grove station on Perth’s suburban Mandurah Line opened on April 23. The station was built at a cost of A$72m as part of the A$125m Aubin Grove road and rail project. It has 2 000 parking bays, along with bicycle facilities, six bus feeder services, a kiosk, toilets, ...
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NewsCRC orders more CRH1A-A high speed trainsets
CHINA: China Railway Corp’s Nanning Railway Bureau has placed an order for 40 CRH1A-A high speed train cars with Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd.Bombardier says that the order is intended to support the ongoing integration of Guangxi's regional high speed routes into the national network of Passenger-Dedicated Lines. The contract ...
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NewsWork starts on Boyolali airport rail link
INDONESIA: Construction has started on a 13·5 km rail link to serve Adi Soemarmo International Airport in the central Java state of Boyolali, following a groundbreaking ceremony on April 8 attended by President Joko Widodo. Due to be completed within two years, the line will connect the airport with Solo ...
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NewsStagecoach and SNCF lead Virgin-branded bid for HS2 operations
UK: On April 24 a consortium led by Stagecoach Group with SNCF and Virgin Holdings as minority partners submitted a formal expression of interest in bidding for the Department for Transport’s upcoming West Coast Partnership franchise.The WCP franchise is scheduled to begin in May 2019. The winner will take over ...
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NewsCapitol Corridor Charger unveiled
USA: The first of six Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives for northern California’s Capitol Corridor inter-city route from Sacramento to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley was unveiled on April 18. A 30-day period of revenue testing is expected to begin by the end of April, ahead of entry into ...
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NewsChampagne and nature inspire Tobu Railway’s Revaty EMUs
JAPAN: Tobu Express put eight Series 500 electric multiple-units into traffic on limited express services with its timetable change on April 21. The three-car EMUs are equipped with retractable end gangways and are designed for easy splitting and joining to enable multiple destinations to be served from Tokyo’s Asakusa station. ...
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NewsPerformance contracts signed despite regulator's concerns
FRANCE: Three 10-year performance contracts between the government and the SNCF group were formally signed on April 20 by Finance Minister Michel Sapin, Transport Minister Alain Vidalies, Frédéric Saint-George as head of the SNCF supervisory board, Patrick Jeantet as President of infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau and Florence Parly, Director-General of ...
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NewsOpen access operators launch Alliance of Rail New Entrants
EUROPE: The Alliance for Rail New Entrants was launched on April 20 to bring together non-incumbent passenger and freight operators who are ‘committed to fair competition and open markets as the only way to shift freight and passengers from road to rail by offering attractive and additional choices’. ALLRAIL has ...
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NewsSwedish railcars arrive in Montevideo
URUGUAY: Seven Fiat Y1 diesel railcars originally built for SJ of Sweden were unloaded at the port of Montevideo on April 15. National operator AFE has purchased the vehicles from rolling stock leasing and maintenance company NetRail. With one vehicle to be used to provide spare parts, AFE is to ...
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NewsRegioJet expands fleet and introduces sixth class
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access passenger operator RegioJet announced on April 18 that it had ordered eight Bombardier Transportation Traxx multi-voltage electric locomotives with an option for 20 more. The company has also awarded Astra Vagoane Călători a €16m contract to supply a further 16 open saloon passenger coaches with 80 ...
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NewsToshkent orbital railway plan
UZBEKISTAN: President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved plans for a 71 km electrified double-track passenger railway paralleling the Toshkent ring road. The orbital line would be designed to reduce road congestion and pollution in the capital, and reduce the need for public transport users to travel via the ...
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NewsVistadome glass-ceiling coach launched by Indian Railways
INDIA: A Vistadome coach which has glass panels in the roof to provide tourists with all-round views on scenic lines was launched on the Vishakhapatnam – Araku route on April 16. Two Vistadome coaches have been built for the route by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. As well as ...
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NewsKTMB orders multiple-units with graphene capacitor energy storage
MALAYSIA: A €180m contract for 22 multiple-units of two types was signed by Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport, national operator KTMB and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive on April 11. The order includes 13 four-car DMUs for use on regional services. These Class 61 units will have an operating speed of 120 km/h, ...
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NewsMÁV-Start and Stadler sign double-deck EMU framework contract
HUNGARY: A framework agreement for the supply of up to 40 Kiss double-deck electric multiple units including a firm order for an initial 10 was signed by national passenger operator MÁV-Start and Stadler on April 12. Stadler said these would be the first double-deck vehicles in Hungary when they enter ...
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NewsRENFE poised to join Virgin’s HS2 franchise bid
UK: Spanish national operator RENFE is understood to be the front runner to join the Virgin Rail Group joint venture of Stagecoach and Virgin Holdings to bid for the government’s upcoming West Coast Partnership franchise.Currently Virgin (51%) and Stagecoach (49%) operate inter-city services under the Virgin Trains brand on the ...
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NewsRegions sound out SNCF competitors
FRANCE: The body which represents the regions of France says that there is a ‘strong appetite’ amongst potential bidders for contracts to operate TER passenger services currently provided by SNCF, which are expected to be opened up to competition around 2024. In order to enable its members to prepare for ...
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NewsWrocław tests city-funded rail service
POLAND: A pilot service financed by the city of Wrocław, rather than the Dolnośląskie voivodship, was launched by regional operator Koleje Dolnośląskie on April 10 with a week of free travel. The new service runs entirely within the city boundaries, linking Wojnów in the east with Nadodrze, taking 18 ...