Passenger rail news – Page 161
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NewsStagecoach and FirstGroup shortlisted for South Western franchise
UK: Incumbent Stagecoach South West Ltd and FirstGroup’s First South Western Trains Ltd have been shortlisted to bid for the next South Western passenger franchise, the Department for Transport announced on February 4. Around 14% of all UK rail journeys are made on the current South Western network, with ...
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NewsTransdev wins Sachsen operating contract
GERMANY: The Leipzig and Mittelsachsen transport authorities have selected Transdev Regio Ost for the Dieselnetzes Nordwestsachsen Lot B contract to operate passenger service R6 between Leipzig, Grimma and Döbeln from June 12 2016 to December 2025. The contract covers the operation of almost 1 million train-km/year using a fleet of ...
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NewsArriva to launch Praha suburban service
CZECH REPUBLIC: DB subsidiary Arriva Vlaky is to launch an unsubsidised suburban passenger service on the 49 km line between Praha Hlavní and Benešov u Prahy on February 29. The semi-fast trains will run every two hours on weekdays, calling at Vršovice, Strašnice zastávka, Hostivař, Mnichovice, Senohraby and Čerčany. ...
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NewsBeograd Centar station inaugurated
SERBIA: Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić inaugurated the first phase of Beograd’s future main station on January 26. Eight of the 10 tracks and five of the six platforms at Beograd Centar (also known as Prokop) station are now being used by two daily return services to Novi Sad and 105 ...
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NewsRebuilt Den Haag Centraal station opened
NETHERLANDS: The rebuilt Den Haag Centraal station was officially inaugurated by Mayor Jozias van Aartsen and State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment Sharon Dijksma during a day of celebrations on February 1. The redesigned terminus is intended to be brighter, more spacious and less cluttered than ...
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NewsQueensland NGR EMU cars shipped from Mumbai
AUSTRALIA: The first six of 450 electric multiple-unit cars which Bombardier Transportation is building at its Savli plant in India under Queensland’s A$4·4bn New Generation Rollingstock contract were shipped from the Port of Mumbai at the end of January. Following testing the first units are expected to enter service in ...
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NewsGreece restarts Trainose privatisation
GREECE: The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund privatisation agency has relaunched the planned sale of national train operator Trainose, a process which began in 2013 but was suspended following a change of government last year. Announcing the restart of the process on January 27, HRADF said it planned to ...
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NewsCP to refurbish Alfa Pendular trainsets
PORTUGAL: National operator CP unveiled the interior and exterior designs for what it termed the ‘next generation Alfa Pendular’ at launch event in Lisboa on January 27.The designs showcase the planned mid-life refurbishment of CP’s 10 Alfa Pendular tilting trains which are used on premium inter-city services on the Braga ...
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NewsScotRail Class 385 EMUs under construction
UK: The first of 70 Class 385 electric multiple-units ordered by Abellio for the ScotRail franchise is now under construction at Hitachi’s factory at Kasado in Japan. The first seven of the 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs are to be built in Kasado, with the remaining 63 to be produced ...
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NewsFirst Brightline coach shell completed at Siemens plant
USA: The first stainless steel coach bodyshell for All Aboard Florida’s Brightline project has been completed at Siemens’ Sacramento plant in California. Siemens is to supply an initial five four-car trainsets with a capacity of 240 passengers, which will be top-and-tailed by Siemens Charger diesel locomotives. Siemens said it ...
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NewsOpen access operator Locomore reaches crowd-funding target
GERMANY: A crowd-funding campaign has successfully raised the minimum of €460 000 which Locomore needs to launch a Berlin – Kassel – Frankfurt – Stuttgart open access service in September, the company announced two days before the campaign ends on January 29. This will be used to cover start-up ...
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NewsSNCF studies options for 'semi high speed' trains in India
INDIA: France’s SNCF has begun working with Indian Railways on a one-year project to study the feasibility of upgrading the 245 km New Delhi – Chandigarh line to permit the operation of ‘semi high speed’ trains at up to 200 km/h, and has agreed to support the pilot projects for ...
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NewsCAF awarded Arriva Rail North rolling stock contract
UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF is to supply 281 new vehicles worth £490m for the next Northern franchise, leasing company Eversholt Rail announced on January 22. The order comprises 31 three-car and 12 four-car electric multiple-units, and 25 two-car and 30 three-car diesel multiple-units. The 160 km/h units will ...
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NewsFirst Metrolink F125 completed
USA: The first F125 diesel locomotive for Los Angeles commuter rail operator Metrolink is nearing completion at the Electro-Motive Diesel plant in Muncie, Indiana, the operator announced on January 20. Designed for operation at up to 200 km/h, the F125 is EMD’s first new design of passenger diesel locomotive for ...
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NewsLondon Suburban Metro and local input to franchising proposed
UK: The Department for Transport and Transport for London released a consultation document on January 21 proposing the creation of a partnership to ‘provide joined-up strategic direction for the specification and management for passenger services across London and the South East’. The aim would be to increase local input ...
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NewsWorkshop upgrade targets international rolling stock market
LATVIA: International passenger train operator L-Ekspresis has completed an EU-supported €14m three-year modernisation of its coach and wagon maintenance workshop, increasing capacity by a factor of 2½ to 3 000 vehicles/year in an effort to expand in international markets. Board member Rolands Gorodeckis said the workshop modernisation would enable it ...
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NewsFour to submit best offers to supply Dutch inter-city fleet
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS announced on January 19 that it had invited Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens and Stadler to submit best and final offers for the Inter-city New Generation contract to supply its next fleet of long-distance trains. It expects to award the contract this summer, with the trains ...
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NewsGTWs delivered for La Pobla de Segur route
SPAIN: This spring Catalan regional operator FGC is due to place into service two Stadler Rail GTW 2/6 diesel multiple-units on the 1 668 mm gauge Lleida — La Pobla de Segur route. Ordered at a cost of €9⋅4m and designated Class 331 by FGC, the new DMUs should ...
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NewsArriva and Schenker sell-off decision delayed
GERMANY: Plans announced last July for the possible part-privatisation of Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries DB Arriva and DB Schenker Logistics are in doubt following government indications that it is unhappy with DB’s proposals. DB had hoped to raise up to €4∙5bn from a sale that could be set against its debt ...
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NewsDouble-deck coaches presented to Koleje Mazowieckie
POLAND: A ceremony at Warszawa Wschodnia on January 13 marked the official presentation of Sundeck double-deck coaches that Pesa has supplied to Mazowieckie voivodship passenger operator Koleje Mazowieckie. The first set then made an inaugural journey to Rembertów. Deliveries of the 20 double-deck intermediate coaches, two double-deck driving cars ...