Passenger rail news – Page 164
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NewsNorthern and TransPennine Express franchises awarded
UK: The Department for Transport announced on December 9 that it had selected Arriva Rail North Ltd to operate the next Northern Rail franchise from April 1 2016, and First Trans Pennine Express Ltd to run the TransPennine Express franchise from the same date. Both contracts were to be signed ...
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NewsArad station refurbishment complete
ROMANIA: The modernised Arad station opened to the public on December 1 after more than three and a half years of work. A 334m lei project started in April 2012 saw the installation of a new footbridge, lifts and escalators, while maintaining the station’s original architectural features, which date from ...
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NewsCross-border link revived
EUROPE: A fourth cross-border rail link between Germany and the Czech Republic was formally reopened on December 7, with a ceremony attended by Czech transport minister Dan Tok, Bayern interior minister Joachim Herrmann and German State Secretary Dorothee Bär. Closed to passenger traffic in 1945, the 7 km link between ...
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NewsKampala trials commuter trains
UGANDA: An experimental commuter rail service was launched in Kampala on December 7, as a joint venture between the Kampala Capital City Authority, Uganda Railways Corp and operating concessionaire Rift Valley Railways. The three partners have agreed run the pilot service for 12 months, following the signing of an initial ...
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NewsSRO launches push-pull trains at 180 km/h
SAUDI ARABIA: President of Saudi Railways Organization Mohammed bin Khalid Al-Suwaiket attended a ceremony in Dammam on December 7 to mark the start of faster passenger services to Riyadh using four push-pull trainsets supplied by CAF of Spain. Designed for a maximum speed of 200 km/h, the trains will operate ...
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NewsICx becomes ICE 4
GERMANY: ‘The ICE 4 will launch a new era for inter-city travel’, said Deutsche Bahn CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube on December 4, at a ceremony at Berlin Südkreuz to unveil the first pre-series ICx trainset. He was joined by federal transport minister Alexander Dobrindt and Siemens Mobility CEO Dr Jochen ...
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NewsNanjing – Anqing PDL opened
CHINA: The 258 km Nanjing – Anqing Intercity Railway was opened to revenue service by China Railway Corp on December 6, following four months of test running. Under construction since 2010 at a cost of 25bn yuan, the 200 km/h Passenger-Dedicated Line mainly serves the province of Anhui, with a ...
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NewsEIB loan to fund Südbahn upgrading work
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways and the European Investment Bank signed a €1·8bn loan agreement on November 30 for upgrading work on the Südbahn route between Wien and Graz to 2026. The loan is to be disbursed over the next three years in tranches of €600m. The money will support ...
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NewsZSSK to end Bratislava – Košice inter-city services
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK announced on December 4 that it would withdraw all of its inter-city services on the 445 km Bratislava – Košice main line with effect from January 18, having previously cut service levels by 40% earlier this year. Czech open access operator RegioJet had warned in ...
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NewsRhätische Bahn takes first delivery of Albula line trainset
SWITZERLAND: StadlerRail delivered the first new-generation trainset for Rhätische Bahn’s Albula line to Landquart depot on December 2. Testing of the 1 000 mm gauge trainsets ordered to operate express services between Chur and St Moritz, is due to begin between December 7 and 11, with certification by the ...
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NewsAbellio receives first R-net Flirt 3 EMU
NETHERLANDS: The first of six Stadler Flirt 3 electric multiple-units ordered by Abellio to operate services on the Gouda – Alphen aan den Rijn route arrived at NedTrain’s Leidschendam depot on December 3. In 2014 the province of Zuid-Holland awarded NS Reizigers and Abellio Rail NRW GmbH a contract ...
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NewsPR to take over in Kujawsko-Pomorskie
POLAND: National regional train operator PR is to take over operation of local services on electrified lines in Kujawsko-Pomorskie with effect from the December 2015 timetable change. In 2013 Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship awarded Arriva RP a two-year contract to operate the electric services, but it subsequently chose to award the next ...
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NewsMoscow Small Ring EMUs ordered
RUSSIA: On December 2 Moscow operator Central Suburban Passenger Co signed a contract for Transmashholding’s Demikhovo plant to supply 35 Type ED4M-500 electric multiple-units between February and July 2016. The six-car 3 kV DC EMUs are to be used on the 54 km Small Ring line in Moscow, where passenger ...
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NewsLondon Midland agrees direct award franchise contract
UK: On December 3 the Department for Transport announced a direct award agreement which will see incumbent Govia continue to operate the West Midlands passenger franchise under the London Midland brand from the expiry of its current deal in April 2016 until October 2017. The Govia joint venture of Go-Ahead ...
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NewsDiesel tram-trains for Puebla
MEXICO: Vossloh Rail Vehicles has delivered what it says are the first tram-trains in the Americas, two diesel vehicles ordered last year by the government of the state of Puebla. The new vehicles have been acquired as part of an 800m pesos project to introduce a tourist service over the ...
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NewsKoleje Śląskie gets 10-year operating contract
POLAND: Śląskie voivodship has agreed to award its in-house train operator Koleje Śląskie a 10-year contract to operate local passenger services from January 1 2016 to December 31 2025. The voivodship will pay KŚ a total of 1·4bn złoty, but not not more than 140m złoty a year, and the ...
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NewsSouth Wales Metro consultation to begin
UK: Public consultation on the proposed Cardiff Capital Region Metro programme to develop an integrated network of rail, bus and light rail services is to begin in early 2016, Wales’ First Minister Carwyn Jones announced on November 30. Metro would involve incremental infrastructure improvements and potentially the development ...
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NewsRebuilt Arnhem Centraal station rewrites the rules
NETHERLANDS: A €37·5m ‘Transfer Terminal’ at Arnhem Centraal which architectural practice UNStudio claims ‘rewrites the rulebook’ on station design was officially opened by Sharon Dijksma, State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment, on November 19. This marks the completion of 20-year project to redevelop the 1950s station area ...
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NewsVIA Rail acquires Brockville Subdivision
CANADA: VIA Rail Canada has acquired the Brockville Subdivision from Canadian Pacific. This comprises 45 km of single track between Smiths Falls and Brockville on the Ottawa – Toronto route in Ontario. ‘This acquisition will strengthen our rail network dedicated to passenger trains in the Ottawa region, where VIA Rail ...
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NewsFrance announces security checks for international rail passengers
FRANCE: Equipment to enable passengers and their luggage to be scanned prior to boarding Thalys services in Paris and Lille is to be installed before December 20, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development & Energy Ségolène Royal has announced. During an interview with radio station France Inter, the minister ...