Passenger rail news – Page 152
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NewsBaden-Württemberg awards passenger operating contracts
GERMANY: The Länd of Baden-Württemberg has awarded a series of contracts for the operation of passenger services. In partnership with Bayern, the Land has awarded DB RegioNetz the Netz 11 contract to operate Hohenlohe-Franken-Untermain services, after receiving no objections from losing bidders. The contract runs for 12 years from December ...
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NewsAbellio to sell 40% stake in Greater Anglia to Mitsui
UK: The Abellio UK subsidiary of Dutch national passenger train operator NS announced on January 17 that it had signed an agreement to sell 40% of its Greater Anglia business to Japanese trading group Mitsui & Co. Abellio said this would be the first time that a ...
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NewsMore TET transfers agreed
FRANCE: On January 12 Transport Secretary Alain Vidalies met with Philippe Richert, President of the association of French regions, and SNCF Voyageurs Director General Florence Parly to review progress with the programme to transfer responsibility for the loss-making Trains d’Equilibre du Territoire network of conventional passenger services from central government ...
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NewsFinland adopts Erex energy metering
FINLAND: National infrastructure manager Liikennevirasto has brought into operation the Erex energy monitoring and billing system developed by the European Railway Energy Settlement System, the ERESS partnership announced on January 12. The agency becomes the seventh member of the not-for-profit organisation, alongside Banedanmark, Bane NOR, Infrabel, SBB, Trafikverket, and the ...
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NewsMacedonian operator orders Chinese locomotives
MACEDONIA: National freight and passenger operator MŽ Transport has awarded Chinese manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou an €8m contract to supply four electric locomotives. Speaking at the signing ceremony on January 10, MŽ Transport CEO Nikola Kostov said the TSI-compliant 25 kV 50 Hz locomotives would offer European and world standards of ...
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NewsPayPal and Apple Wallet speed Stansted Express booking
UK: Passengers using the stanstedexpress.com website to book tickets for travel on Abellio Greater Anglia’s Stansted Express service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport can now pay via PayPal and add their tickets to Apple Wallet. This removes the need for passengers to print out tickets before travelling. The ...
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NewsSNCF awards €3·75bn Paris RER fleet renewal contract
FRANCE: The SNCF board has formally selected a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier Transportation for a deal to supply up to 355 custom-designed X'Trapolis Cityduplex double-deck trainsets worth €3·75bn for use on Paris RER lines D and E. The order announced on January 11 is the largest-ever contract to be ...
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NewsDB and Vlexx win Saarland passenger contracts
GERMANY: The Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz south and north transport authorities have jointly awarded two contracts for the operation of regional passenger services for 15 years from December 2019. Incumbent DB Regio has won the SaarRB Lot 1 contract to operate 3·2 million train-km/year on the Schweich – Trier – Saarbrücken ...
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NewsTrenitalia buys c2c to enter UK rail market
UK: An agreement in principle for National Express Group to sell its c2c passenger franchisee to the Trenitalia subsidiary of Italian state railway group FS for £70m was announced on January 11. NEG’s c2c holds the Essex Thameside franchise to operate commuter-focused services into London Fenchurch Street, carrying around ...
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NewsNS completes green energy transition
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is now operating all of its electric trains using wind-generated power, following a three-year transition in association with natural gas, electricity and heat supplier Eneco. According to a personal video message from CEO Roger van Boxtel, NS is the first railway in the world to ...
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NewsChangsha – Zhuzhou – Xiangtan Intercity Railway opens
CHINA: The Changsha – Zhuzhou – Xiangtan Intercity Railway in Hunan Province opened for passenger services on December 26. There are 21 stations on the 95·5 km Y-shared route from Changsha to the two termini. Services are operated using eight-car CRH6F electric trainsets from CRRC Qingdao Sifang. The alignment ...
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NewsPassenger locomotives for Nigeria unveiled
NIGERIA: The first two diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains on the Abuja – Kaduna line have been rolled out at the CRRC Dalian factory in China. The 1 435 mm gauge Type CDD3B1 locomotives have a maximum speed of 150 km/h, and are designed to cope with local ...
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NewsAmtrak streamlines management structure
USA: Federal passenger company Amtrak announced on January 5 that it would be rationalising its senior management structure as part of efforts to ‘position itself for an even more competitive future’.President & CEO Wick Moorman has reduced by half the senior management team to create six reporting lines. These are: ...
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NewsRevised ERTMS Deployment Plan adopted
EUROPE: A new timetable for the roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System has been put in place by the European Commission, with the adoption on January 5 of an implementing regulation. The revised ERTMS European Deployment Plan has been drawn up over the past two years by ERTMS ...
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NewsDSB seeks smoother border checks to halt slump in Øresund traffic
EUROPE: Identity checks for rail passengers travelling across the Øresund fixed link between Denmark and Sweden are to be simplified with effect from January 30, Danish national operator DSB has announced. In response to the European migrant crisis, with effect from January 4 2016 the Swedish government brought in a ...
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NewsDonghae Line opens
SOUTH KOREA: The first phase of the Donghae Line opened on December 30, linking Busan with Ilgwang. Services use an existing alignment north from Bujeon station in Busan, serving 14 stations along a 28·5 km route. Interchanges are provided with the Busan metro at Geoje, Busan National University of ...
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NewsDB Regio wins operating contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, the Länder of Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen have awarded DB Regio a contract to operate the new RE18 passenger service from December 2018 until December 2023. To be launched as the final element of the Saale-Thüringen-Südharz network, service RE18 will provide a fast link between Jena-Göschwitz ...
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NewsBane NOR launched to manage Norwegian network
NORWAY: Celebrations at Oslo Sentral station on January 2 marked the launch of Bane NOR as the country’s railway infrastructure manager, replacing Jernbaneverket.The move is part of a wider railway reform programme that has seen the creation by the government of a Railway Directorate to specify and manage the provision ...
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NewsKorail orders fleet of 260 km/h EMUs
SOUTH KOREA: National operator Korail announced a 269bn won order for 84 Hyundai Rotem EMU-250 electric multiple-unit cars on December 30. Deliveries are scheduled by the by the end of 2020. Derived from the HEMU-430 experimental high speed design unveiled in 2012, the EMU-250 has distributed traction giving a maximum ...
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NewsTrain interior celebrates nature and culture
FRANCE: To promote the architectural and natural heritage of the region they serve, SNCF is decorating the interiors of five trainsets deployed on Line N of the Transilien suburban network, running from Paris Montparnasse to Mantes-la-Jolie, Dreux and Rambouillet. The programme being undertaken in conjunction with CMN, the government ...