Passenger rail news – Page 169
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NewsNorthernmost PDL opens in Heilongjiang
CHINA: The country’s most northerly passenger-dedicated line opened for revenue service on August 17, connecting the two principal cities in Heilongjiang province, Harbin and Qiqihar. Operating at up to 250 km/h, the high speed trains have cut the fastest journey time between the cities from 3 h to 85 ...
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NewsCameras to detect drunken behaviour
JAPAN: West Japan Railway has installed cameras that can automatically identify drunken behaviour and alert platform staff, in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents at stations. So far 46 cameras have been implemented on the Osaka Loop Line platforms of Koybashi station in Osaka. JR West is ...
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NewsDecember deadline for Greek rail asset offers
GREECE: The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund announced on August 13 that a deadline of December 2015 has been agreed for binding offers to take over state-owned operator TrainOSE and rolling stock maintenance contractor Rosco. The announcement follows the conclusion of negotiations between the privatisation agency, the government and the ...
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NewsSulawesi railway works to start in October
INDONESIA: Civil works for construction of the first section of the planned trans-Sulawesi railway are expected to start in October with an inauguration ceremony to be attended by President Joko Widodo. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in Siawung in August 2014 to launch the 145 km Makassar – Pare Pare ...
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NewsPKP Intercity Flirt presented
POLAND: The first of 20 Flirt 3 electric multiple-units being supplied to PKP Intercity by a Stadler-Newag consortium has been presented to the public at Katowice station, following the completion of testing at the Railway Institute in July. ‘To ensure the safest and most comfortable journey for passengers, we ...
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NewsPesa preferred bidder to supply Sicilian EMUs
ITALY: The region of Sicilia announced on August 7 the results of a tender for the supply of five electric multiple-units. The strongest bid came from Pesa, ahead of offers from Newag and Stadler. Pesa had submitted a tender to supply four-car sets from its Elf family. The region ...
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NewsRZD launches World Cup regional rail projects
RUSSIA: Russian Railways is making preparation to enhance regional passenger services around Volgograd and Samara ahead of the 2018 FIFA football World Cup, during which both cities will host matches. A rail link is to be completed by the end of 2017 to serve the international airport in Volgograd, RZD ...
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NewsPraha airport rail link option selected
CZECH REPUBLIC: Following a feasibility study undertaken by infrastructure manager SŽDC, the Ministry of Transport has selected its preferred option for the long-planned rail link from central Praha to Václav Havel Airport at Ruzyně. The chosen option involves double-tracking and 3 kV DC electrification of the existing line which ...
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NewsLondon – Blackpool open access service approved
UK: On August 7 the Office of Rail Regulation informed Alliance Rail Holdings that it had decided to approve a 10-year track access contract between Network Rail and Great North Western Railway, an Alliance subsidiary which is planning to launch open access passenger services between London and Blackpool in early ...
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NewsBombardier wins Israel electric loco order
ISRAEL: Bombardier is to supply 62 Traxx AC electric locomotives to Israel Railways under a contract announced by the railway on August 5. Valued at 1bn shekel, the deal includes an option for a further 32 locos. ISR launched an international tender in July 2014 for the supply of between ...
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NewsSouth Korea to reinstate line to the DMZ
SOUTH KOREA: As part of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the partition of the Korean peninsula, on August 5 President Park Geun-hye attend a ceremony to launch work to reinstate the 9·3 km Baengmagoji – Woljeongi South Korean section of the former 222 km Gyeongwon Line between Seoul ...
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NewsAppeals block award of Hamburg – Sylt contract
GERMANY: Losing bidders Abellio and incumbent Transdev subsidiary Nord-Ostsee-Bahn have formally objected to the Land of Schleswig-Holstein’s selection of DB Regio for the contract to operate Bahnnetz-West passenger services from December 2016. Their appeal is expected to be heard in September. The contract covers the 238 km service RE6 from ...
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NewsSydney suburban fleet modernisation contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales has awarded the UGL Unipart Rail joint venture an A$131m contract to modernise Sydney Trains’ fleet of 446 Tangara suburban electric multiple-unit cars by July 2018. The aim is to extend their service life and undertake ‘customer experience enhancements’ on the EMUs which ...
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NewsMidi-Pyrénées orders more multiple-units
FRANCE: Alstom Transport announced a €46m order to supply a further five electric and three electro-diesel Régiolis multiple-units to the Midi-Pyrénées region on August 5. This follows from an initial 25 units ordered in 2009 which began entering service on the routes from Toulouse to Latour-de-Carol and Mazamet from ...
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NewsKiwiRail seeks interest in Napier – Gisborne line
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has invited proposals from freight or tourist train operators interested in a non-exclusive licence to run services on the 210 km Napier – Gisborne line on North Island. Tenders are due by September 10, with the final decision scheduled to be announced by mid-October. ‘A number ...
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NewsPR to withdraw all unsubsidised services
POLAND: National regional train operator Przewozy Regionalne has announced its intention to withdraw all its commercially-operated train and bus services with effect from September 1, and instead provide only those services which are subsidised by local authorities. PR introduced its interREGIO and REGIOexpress services in 2009 in an effort to ...
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NewsIrish public transport budget increased
IRELAND: National railway Iarnród Éireann is set to be benefit from an additional €60m which the government has allocated to the Ministry of Transport, Tourism & Sport’s public transport budget for 2015. The aim is to catch up with the backlog of work which resulted from country’s recession. Rolling stock ...
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NewsHoosier State train operating contracts in place
USA: On August 2 the Chicago – Indianapolis Hoosier State passenger service began running under new operating contracts which have been awarded to Amtrak and Iowa Pacific Holdings by the Indiana Department of Transportation and local authorities on the route. Federal funding for Amtrak services of less than 1 ...
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NewsFirst Great Western and Eversholt sign Hitachi AT300 train contract
UK: Operator First Great Western and leasing company Eversholt Rail formally signed a £361m contract to procure and finance 22 five-car and seven nine-car Hitachi AT300 inter-city trainsets on July 30. The signing follows government approval for the order, which was proposed by FGW as part of its new direct-award ...
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NewsAlgerian electro-diesel multiple-unit contract signed
ALGERIA: Alstom Transport announced the signing of a €200m contract to supply national railway SNTF with 17 Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple units on July 29. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in January 2018. The units are to be deployed on inter-city services linking Alger with destinations including Oran, ...