Passenger rail news – Page 177
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NewsConsortium to plan 30% capacity increase at London Waterloo
UK: The South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance of train operator SWT and infrastructure manager NR announced on March 18 that it had appointed a consortium of Skanska, Colas Rail, Aecom and Mott MacDonald to plan and undertake a four-year multi-million pound programme to provide a ‘step change’ in capacity at ...
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NewsSaudi Railways Organization orders 200 km/h Talgo diesel trainsets
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railways Organization has awarded Talgo a contract worth in excess of $200m to supply six 200 km/h diesel trainsets for use on the 480 km Riyadh – Dammam line. In conjunction with infrastructure upgrades the trainsets are expected to cut journey times from 4 h 20 min ...
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NewsHokuriku Shinkansen opens between Nagano and Kanazawa
JAPAN: The 228 km Hokuriku Shinkansen high speed line between Nagano, Toyama and Kanazawa opened on March 14. The opening has reduced the fastest journey between Tokyo and Kanazawa to 2 h 28 min, compared to the previous time of 4 h 20 min via the 1 067 mm gauge ...
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NewsKoleje Dolnośląskie makes Impuls purchase
POLAND: Voivodship-owned local passenger train operator Koleje Dolnośląskie signed a 78m złoty order for five four-car Newag Impuls 31WEa electric multiple-units on March 10. The 160 km/h units with a capacity of 460 passengers are to be delivered by the end of this year for use on the Wrocław ...
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NewsAbellio and Hitachi sign ScotRail train contract
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe and Abellio formally announced the signing of the previously-announced contract for the supply and maintenance of 70 electric multiple-units for the next ScotRail franchise on March 12. The EMUs are being financed by Caledonian Rail Leasing, a special purpose vehicle created by SMBC Leasing. The ...
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NewsFirstGroup targets airlines with London – Edinburgh open access proposal
UK: FirstGroup has applied to the Office of Rail Regulation for track access rights which would enable it to launch an open access passenger service between London King’s Cross, Stevenage, Newcastle, Morpeth and Edinburgh from 2018. The service of five return trains/day with journey times of 4 h to ...
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NewsDown and up again on the ChooChoo Park Railway
SOUTH KOREA: Visitors to the High 1 Resort in Gangwon province have a new attraction to enjoy. The ChooChoo Park Railway is the latest addition to a wide range of leisure facilities, which include skiing, nature trails and golf, with hotels and a revolving restaurant set amid scenic mountain views. ...
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NewsFirst CSR Roca EMU unveiled
ARGENTINA: On March 5 President Cristina Fernández joined Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo and Minister of Economy & Public Finance Axel Kicillof to present the first four-car EMU to be delivered by CSR Qingdao Sifang of China for the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires. Following 90 ...
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NewsDB signs first station development framework
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn’s station management business unit DB Station&Service has signed the first of a planned series of framework agreements with the Länder for the development of new stations. Intended to boost ridership on the rail network, these stations would be located in residential and commercial areas and near traffic ...
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NewsElectrification priorities in northern England
UK: An electrification task force set up in December 2013 to produce recommendations for rail electrification in northern England released its final report on March 5. The 32 routes examined have been grouped into three prioritisation tiers, based on their ability to contribute to local economic plans, fit ...
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NewsVictoria orders more X’Trapolis EMUs
AUSTRALIA: The government of Victoria announced an order for a further five six-car Alstom X’Trapolis electric multiple-units on March 3. The first is expected to enter service by the end of 2016. The government said the order would plug a critical short-term gap in train availability in Melbourne and also ...
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NewsDelft tunnel and underground station opened
NETHERLANDS: Trains between Rotterdam and Den Haag have started using the new underground station in Delft, following the completion of a week-long blockade to transfer services from the elevated alignment that has carried the main line through the city for more than 150 years. Under the ‘Spoorzone Delft’ project, ProRail’s ...
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NewsUK Eurostar sale price 'ahead of expectations'
EUROPE: The British government announced an agreement to sell its entire stake in Eurostar International Ltd for £757·1m on March 4. Eurostar International owns the UK’s 40% stake in the cross-Channel high speed train operator, with France’s state-owned train operator SNCF holding 55% and its Belgian counterpart SNCB the remaining ...
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NewsBuenos Aires commuter routes renationalised
ARGENTINA: By means of a resolution published on March 2, Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo has instructed federal railway operating company SOFSE to take direct charge of the Mitre, San Martín, Roca and Belgrano Sur commuter networks in Buenos Aires, rescinding operating agreements signed on February 10 ...
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NewsVirgin Trains East Coast starts operations
UK: On March 1 the Inter-City Railways consortium of Stagecoach Group (90%) and Virgin Holdings (10%) began operating inter-city services on the East Coast Main Line under the Virgin Trains East Coast brand. Stagecoach and Virgin had been awarded an eight-year franchise in November last year, committing to invest £140m ...
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NewsBattery-diesel hybrid multiple-unit on test
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has begun test running with the first of eight Series HB-E210 two-car battery-diesel multiple-units which are being supplied by J-TREC. The units are expected to offer a 60% reduction in NOX and particulate emissions compared to conventional DMUs. JR East ordered the hybrid DMUs in ...
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NewsInvitations to tender issued for Northern and TransPennine franchises
UK: The invitations to tender for the next Northern and TransPennine Express passenger franchises were issued by the Department for Transport on February 27. The ITTs set out the minimum requirements which must be included by bidders in their proposals. Last year Abellio Northern Ltd, Arriva Rail North Ltd and ...
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News‘Healthy DSB’ objectives achieved in 2014
DENMARK: National passenger operator DSB presented its annual report for 2014 on February 26, with Chairman Peter Schütze and Acting CEO Stig Pastwa saying it has achieved its objectives under the ‘Healthy DSB’ programme to improve its financial performance, punctuality and reputation. Ridership was up 2% on the previous year ...
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NewsFinland seeks EU rail funding
FINLAND: The government has applied for funds from the TEN-T programme for several railway projects. The application includes €12·2m for planning and €66·8m for the construction of the Helsinki City Rail Loop. This project was approved by the Finnish Transport Agency in February 2012 as a means of relieving ...
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NewsTesting underway on Honam high speed line
SOUTH KOREA: National train operator Korail has begun trial running on the first phase of the Honam high speed line, which is now expected to open for revenue service in April. Intended to serve the southwest of the country, Phase I of the country’s second high speed line has been ...