Passenger rail news – Page 147
-
NewsSBB launches Gotthard Panorama Express
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways staged a preview trip for its seasonal Gotthard Panorama Express on April 8. Combining a 2 h 45 min cruise on a steamship on the Vierwaldstättersee with a rail journey over the famous Gotthard pass, the service is intended to stimulate tourist travel over the historic ...
-
NewsDevelopment authority to regulate Indian Railways
INDIA: Creation of the Rail Development Authority of India to act as an independent railway regulator was announced by the government on April 5. The move is part of an ongoing reform of the transport sector, following the scrapping of the separate railway budget. RDA is to be established under ...
-
NewsČD announces Pendolino rejuvenation
CZECH REPUBLIC: National passenger operator České Dráhy has awarded its DPOV subsidiary a contract to refurbish the seven seven-car Class 680 Pendolino trainsets used on its flagship inter-city routes from Praha to Ostrava, Cheb, Františkovy Lázně and Košice. The work is scheduled to start this summer and take around a ...
-
NewsJakarta – Bandung construction contract signed
INDONESIA: The engineering, procurement and construction contract for the 142 km Chinese-backed high speed railway between Jakarta and Bandung was signed in the capital on April 4.The contracts was signed between a consortium of Chinese and local companies at a ceremony held at the headquarters of state-owned engineering group Wijaya ...
-
NewsCRRC rolls out Wenzhou commuter EMU
CHINA: CRRC Qingdao Sifang rolled out its first electric multiple-unit for Wenzhou Line S1 on March 31. The four-car EMU is the first of 32 being built under a contract awarded in 2014. Based on a Type A metro train design, the EMU features a level of comfort more ...
-
NewsZSSK orders DMUs and coaches
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK has awarded its traditional supplier ŽOS Vrútky two contracts to supply locomotive-hauled coaches and diesel multiple-units. The 21 Class 861 DMUs are to be delivered from 2018 for use on the Zvolen – Vrútky and Zvolen – Fiľakovo lines. They will have air-conditioning, wi-fi and ...
-
NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express EMU car rolled out
GERMANY: Siemens unveiled the first Desiro HC car for the future Rhein-Ruhr-Express network at its Krefeld factory on March 31. ‘The RRX will lift regional transport in NRW to a higher level’, said NRW Transport Minister Michael Groschek on his visit to Krefeld, adding that ‘the new trains combine ...
-
NewsInnovative engineering underpins new Ilkeston station
UK: New stations at Ilkeston in Derbyshire and Low Moor in West Yorkshire opened on April 2. Passenger trains began calling at Ilkeston for the first time since 1967 with the opening of the £10m station following a project led by Derbyshire County Council. This was supported by an £4·5m ...
-
NewsSNCF orders 30 Coradias for TET services
FRANCE: SNCF Mobilités has awarded Alstom a €250m contract to supply a further 30 Alstom Coradia multiple-units. These are scheduled to be delivered from September 2018 for use on Trains d'Equilibre du Territoire long-distance services on the Paris – Amiens – Boulogne, Paris – Bourges – Montluçon, Clermont-Ferrand – Nîmes, ...
-
NewsVlexx signs Saarland Talent 3 EMU order
GERMANY: Vlexx has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract to supply 21 three-car Talent 3 electric multiple-units. These will be used from December 2019 on regional services which it is to operate under the SaarRB Lot 2 contract awarded by local transport authorities in Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz during January. The EMUs ...
-
NewsGO Transit RER receives C$1·8bn in federal funding
CANADA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on March 31 that the federal government is to provide C$1·8bn towards the GO Transit Regional Express Rail project being developed in the Greater Golden Horseshoe centred on Toronto. The money is to come from the New Building Canada Fund, with the province ...
-
NewsDB Regio orders more Coradia Continental units
GERMANY: DB Regio has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 26 Coradia Continental electric multiple-units for use in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Rheinland-Pfalz. The firm order announced on March 31 has been placed within a 2012 framework agreement for the supply of up to 400 units, the first 28 of which entered ...
-
NewsAmtrak’s Gardner calms fears over Trump budget cuts
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak has sought to calm concerns about budget cuts affecting its inter-city passenger services in the wake of federal government budget proposals presented by President Trump on March 16.Speaking at the ‘Future Railway Organisation’ seminar arranged by consultancy Steer Davies Gleave in London on March 29, ...
-
NewsDB orders 25 inter-city trainsets
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has placed a firm order for a further 25 push-pull double-deck inter-city trainsets, Bombardier Transportation announced on March 30. The contract covers 25 Traxx AC3 electric locomotives and 124 Twindexx Vario double-deck coaches to be delivered from 2019. They will be equipped with ETCS Level 2 Baseline ...
-
NewsNürnberg S-Bahn EMU contract signed
GERMANY: A contract for Alstom to supply 27 four-car Class 1440 Coradia Continental electric multiple-units for use on Nürnberg S-Bahn services was signed by DB Regio Bayern Chairman Hansrüdiger Fritz on March 29. The units are to be supplied from Alstom’s Salzgitter plant for use from 2020 on Nürnberg S-Bahn ...
-
NewsRiga station rebuild to offer ‘moments of great wonder’
LATVIA: Danish architectural firm PLH and engineering partner Cowi have won an international competition to design the rebuilding of Riga’s Centrālā station into multimodal transport hub and the provision of a bridge over the River Daugava as part of the Rail Baltica project. Procurement for the station project is scheduled ...
-
NewsFerrovie Appulo Lucane expands fleet
ITALY: Ferrovie Appulo Lucane has awarded Stadler an €8·5m contract to supply an additional three-car diesel multiple-unit for its 950 mm gauge network, along with two intermediate cars to lengthen two existing units from two to three cars. An order for a third intermediate car is expected to follow within ...
-
NewsSBB orders 14 EMUs for RER Vaud
SWITZERLAND: A SFr125m contract for Stadler Rail to supply 14 four-car Flirt electric multiple-units for use on the RER Vaud network centred on Lausanne was signed by Swiss Federal Railways on March 24. The EMUs are scheduled to be delivered by 2020. They will be 75 m long with 324 ...
-
NewsThird-party operators get access to ČD depots
CZECH REPUBLIC: The government has passed an amendment to the Railway Act obliging state operator ČD to provide non-discriminatory access to its depots on a commercial basis with effect from on April 1. Third-party operators will be granted access to ČD’s repair, maintenance and servicing facilities, fuelling and toilet waste ...
-
NewsCRRC to supply rolling stock to Philadelphia
USA: The board of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has approved the purchase of 45 double-deck coaches from CRRC MA Corp for use on its Regional Rail network of commuter services. CRRC’s bid of $137·5m for the base order of 45 coaches and $161m including options for 10 more beat ...