Passenger rail news – Page 165
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NewsEurostar e320 enters service
EUROPE: The first of Eurostar’s 17 Siemens-built Velaro e320 trainsets began operating in limited commercial service on November 20, having been authorised for passenger operation through the Channel Tunnel the previous day. According to Eurostar, ‘we received the final piece of safety authorisation earlier than expected’, allowing the company to ...
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NewsODEG wins Netz Spree-Neiße operating contract
GERMANY: Following an open tender conducted by transport authority VBB, on November 19 the Land of Brandenburg and Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien transport auithority ZVON announced that incumbent Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn had been selected to operate Netz Spree-Neiße services for 12 years from December 2018. The contract covers the operation of 1·9 million train-km/year ...
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NewsSlovakia calls tenders for long-distance operating contract
SLOVAKIA: The Ministry of Transport has called for tenders for its first contract to operate subsidised long-distance passenger services. This is intended as the initial stage in a long-term plan to liberalise the passenger market. The tender announced on November 6 covers the 230 km Bratislava – Banská Bystrica ...
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NewsGo-Ahead and Abellio win Stuttgart passenger operating contracts
GERMANY: UK company Go-Ahead and the Abellio subsidiary of Dutch national railway NS have been selected for three contracts to operate Netz 1 passenger services from Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Winfried Hermann announced on November 17. Formal award of the contracts by transport authority Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg ...
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NewsUzbekistan Railways orders more Talgo trainsets
UZBEKISTAN: National railway UTY has signed a €38m contract for Patentes Talgo to supply a further two 250 km/h trainsets in 2017. The extra trainsets have been ordered as part of the ongoing 25 kV 50 Hz electrification of the 291 km Samarkand – Bukhara line which is scheduled for ...
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NewsCross-border train ready to live longer and prosper
EUROPE: Translink NI Railways is undertaking a major refurbishment of the three locomotive-hauled trainsets used on the cross-border Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin. The first completed eight-car set re-entered service on November 16, and all are expected to return to service by the end of the year. The Enterprise ...
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NewsAnime-themed Series 500 launched on Sanyo Shinkansen
JAPAN: West Japan Railway officially launched an anime-themed 500 Type EVA Shinkansen trainset into revenue service on November 7, marking the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Sanyo Shinkansen. One of the railway’s nine Series 500 trainsets has been wrapped in a stylised livery to commemorate the 20th anniversary ...
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NewsNomad Digital and ÖBB agree 10-year onboard connectivity partnership
AUSTRIA: Technology provider Nomad Digital has signed what it says is the world’s largest ‘multi-transport connectivity’ contract to date with Austrian Federal Railways, it announced on November 13. Under the terms of the 10-year framework agreement, Nomad Digital is to equip ‘the majority’ of ÖBB’s passenger trains with onboard wi-fi ...
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NewsGateway Development Corp to lead trans-Hudson tunnel project
USA: Officials from the states of New York and New Jersey announced on November 12 that a governance model has been agreed to take forward plans for an additional rail tunnel beneath the Hudson river between Newark and New York. A four-party entity known as the Gateway Development Corp would ...
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NewsThree shortlisted for Melbourne’s High Capacity Metro Trains contract
AUSTRALIA: Three consortia have been shortlisted for the High Capacity Metro Trains public-private partnership contract to supply and maintain 37 electric multiple-units for Melbourne suburban services, Victoria’s Minister for Public Transport & Employment Jacinta Allan announced on November 9. The shortlisted bidders are: Bombardier (Bombardier Transportation Australia, Macquarie Bank, ITOCHU ...
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NewsSEPTA orders Siemens electric locos
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has formally awarded preferred bidder Siemens a $118m contract to supply 13 ACS-64 electric locomotives by early 2018, along with spare parts and staff training. The contract announced on November 11 includes an option for up to five more of the locomotives, which are ...
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NewsTAZARA takes delivery of locos and coaches
AFRICA: Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority has taken delivery of four diesel-electric locomotives and 18 coaches supplied from China. TAZARA expects the new equipment valued at US$22·4m to have a ‘substantial impact’ on its operations, which have been suffering from reduced capacity as a result of the age of the fleet ...
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NewsDieselnetz Augsburg operator selected
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG has selected Transdev’s Bayerischen Regiobahn to operate Dieselnetz Augsburg I regional services from December 9 2018 to December 14 2030. BRB current operates Dieselnetz Augsburg II services. Formal award of the operating contract is subject to a 10-day standstill period which expires on November 20. ...
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NewsOyster and contactless to reach Gatwick Airport in January
UK: On November 10 Rail Minister Claire Perry announced that an agreement had been reached by the government, Transport for London and train operator Govia Thameslink Railway which will enable passengers to use contactless bank cards and TfL’s Oyster smart card on rail services between London and Gatwick Airport from ...
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NewsFlorida’s Brightline to ‘take the grey out of travel’
USA: Privately-owned inter-city passenger service promoter All Aboard Florida unveiled Brightline as the branding for its future services on November 9. AAF plans to launch Miami – West Palm Beach services in mid-2017, and Miami – Orlando later the same year. The Brightline brand has been developed in partnership ...
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NewsInterPanter EMUs enter service
CZECH REPUBLIC: The first two Škoda Transportation Class 660.1 InterPanter electric multiple-units entered regular service on the Olomouc – Přerov – Břeclav – Brno route on November 4, following a handover ceremony at Olomouc station. Derived from RegioPanter EMUs ordered for regional services, the 160 km/h low-floor dual-system InterPanter ...
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NewsMore Siemens Charger diesel locomotives ordered
USA: Siemens has received orders for a further 34 Charger diesel locomotives from three states, the company announced on November 6. This includes 14 locomotives for California, eight for Maryland and 12 for Illinois. All have been ordered as options on the initial $225m contract for 32 locos awarded in ...
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Newsc2c offers contactless payment wristbands
UK: Essex to London commuter operator c2c has offered free contactless payment wristbands to selected passengers. The bPay by Barclaycard wristbands contain a contactless chip which can be used to pay for travel within London and at certain other c2c stations, in the same way as a contactless bank card ...
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NewsEurostar sale ‘represented value for money’ says NAO
UK: On November 6 the National Audit Office published a report into the £757·1m sale of the UK's interest in cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar International, concluding that the government achieved its objective of maximising proceeds and that the sale represented value for money for taxpayers. However, Meg Hillier ...
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NewsState Secretary replaced after damning Fyra report
NETHERLANDS: Sharon Dijksma was appointed as State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment with effect from November 3. Reporting to Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schulz Verhagen-Maas Geesteranus, she replaces Wilma Mansveld, who resigned last week following the publication of a critical report into the Fyra high speed train debacle. ...