Passenger rail news – Page 178
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NewsGovernment plans 288bn pesos railway investment
PHILIPPINES: The government has confirmed its intention to press ahead with a major investment in the railway network on the largest island of Luzon, with the intention of developing a 700 km network by the end of the decade. The ‘integrated Luzon’ programme would focus on a large-scale renovation of ...
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NewsBritish consortium wins North–South Railway operating partnership contract
SAUDI ARABIA: North–South Railway project promoter Saudi Railway Co has selected a consortium of three UK-based companies to provide management and technical support for the development of passenger and freight services on its network: Serco: prime contractor and technical support for passenger operations;Freightliner Group: freight expertise and support, technical assistance, ...
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NewsTraxx for 'the true north'
GERMANY: Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister of Transport Dr Frank Nägele unveiled the first of 15 Bombardier Transportation Traxx P160 DE Multi-Engine diesel locomotives ordered for Marschbahn services on February 19. The locomotive carries the Land’s slogan promoting ‘the true north’, and is to be deployed on the route between Hamburg and the ...
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NewsČD orders more RegioPanters
CZECH REPUBLIC: National passenger operator ČD signed a framework contract with Škoda Vagonka on February 17 for the supply of up to 11 more Class 650 two-car dual-voltage electric multiple-units. The framework is valid for 48 months and is worth KC1·2bn. It follows from an order for 14 EMUs ...
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NewsTCDD orders 10 more Velaros
TURKEY: State railway operator TCDD has selected Siemens to supply a further 10 Velaro TR high speed trainsets, the company confirmed on February 18. Subject to any legal challenges from other bidders, the contract is expected to be signed shortly. Having bought the former Velaro D demonstrator and then ordered ...
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NewsAstaldi to complete Napoli Afragola station
ITALY: On February 16, construction group Astaldi announced that it had been awarded a €61m civil works contract by Italferr for ‘completion’ of Napoli Afragola station on the Napoli – Roma high speed line. Although site clearance and other preparatory works were undertaken at Afragola, 3 km north of Napoli, ...
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NewsEurostar growth continues in 2014
EUROPE: Announcing preliminary results for 2014 on February 18, Eurostar International Ltd reported sales revenue of £867m, up 1% from £857m the year before or 4% at constant exchange rates. Like-for-like operating profit was up 2% at £55m from £54m the year before, reflecting ‘additional non-cash charges’ made against the ...
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NewsHelsinki to delay suburban train tendering
FINLAND: Helsinki regional transport authority HSL is negotiating a new operating agreement with national operator VR which would see a three-year delay to plans to tender the operation of commuter services around the capital. If VR’s proposal is accepted and a letter of intent is agreed by the end of ...
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NewsMelbourne Metro authority to develop cross-city link
AUSTRALIA: Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews and Transport Minister Jacinta Allan announced on February 16 that a new authority is being established to plan Melbourne’s long-proposed cross-city rail tunnel. The Melbourne Metro Rail Authority has been allocated an initial budget of A$40m to develop proposals for the 9 km link, ...
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NewsGas-fuelled locomotive enters passenger service
CZECH REPUBLIC: A diesel-electric locomotive adapted to use compressed natural gas fuel has entered trial passenger service with national operator ČD. The pilot programme aims to assess the economic, environmental and practical applications of CNG, and ČD plans to convert all its Class 714 locomotives if the testing proves successful. ...
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NewsSNCF posts stable results as competitive threats mount
FRANCE: National operator SNCF issued its 2014 financial results on February 12, which highlighted the scale of the competitive threats that the business is facing in its home market. In what the company termed ‘the difficult environment in France’, SNCF reported year-on-year growth in revenue of 1·5% against 0·5% for ...
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NewsSTIF orders more double-deck EMUs
FRANCE: Paris regional transport authority STIF has ordered a further 10 MI09 double-deck electric multiple-units from a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier. The total value of the contract announced on February 12 is €150m, with Alstom having a €95m share. The new EMUs are to be delivered in 2017 to ...
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NewsRDC withdraws Bonn - Berlin inter-city proposal
GERMANY: Open-access operator RDC Deutschland announced on February 11 that it had withdrawn its application to introduce a Bonn – Köln – Berlin inter-city service following the partial rejection of its bid for paths by infrastructure manager DB Netz. Under DB Netz's path allocation process for the 2016-20 period, RDC ...
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NewsSiemens to build RRX double-deckers
GERMANY: The four regional authorities promoting the Rhein-Ruhr-Express project announced on February 10 that Siemens had been selected as preferred bidder to supply and maintain for 30 years the double-deck trainsets to be used by the future operating concessionaire. Subject to ratification by the governing bodies of Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, NWL ...
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NewsAbellio to run Limburg services
NETHERLANDS: Regional rail and bus services in the province of Limburg are to be operated by NS subsidiary Abellio, the regional authority announced on February 10. Valued at €55m a year, the integrated public transport contract will start on December 11 2016 and run for 15 years. As well as ...
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NewsFinal NS Traxx handed over
NETHERLANDS: A ceremony at the Utrecht railway museum on February 6 marked the handover of the last of 19 Bombardier Traxx F160 MS electric locomotives ordered by NS. The national passenger operator ordered the locomotives in mid-2013 to haul refurbished coaches on trains introduced to replace the troubled AnsaldoBreda ...
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NewsCAF signs Caledonian Sleeper coach contract
UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF announced on February 10 that it had signed the €200m contract to supply Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd with 75 new coaches for use on Anglo-Scottish sleeper services from April 2018, plus associated spares and technical support. The coaches are being financed by the ...
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NewsSydney opens South West Rail Link
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian officially opened the South West Rail Link on February 8, adding a further 11·4 km to the Sydney Trains suburban network. Under construction since 2011, the line diverges from the Sydney – Melbourne main line at Glenfield ...
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NewsContactless and wristband ticketing in Jakarta
INDONESIA: The national railway’s Jakarta suburban train operating subsidiary PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek is deploying Sony’s FeliCa electronic payment technology on its 182 km network, which has 64 stations and carries 700 000 passenger/day. KCJ is to accept payment by FeliCa IC chip contactless cards and embedded wristbands from this ...
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NewsSkånetrafiken orders Coradia Nordic EMUs
SWEDEN: Skåne regional transport authority Skånetrafiken announced a SKr1·5bn order for a further 25 Alstom Coradia Nordic electric multiple-units on February 5. The 160 km/h four-car regional EMUs will be 74 m long with a total capacity of 510 passengers. They are to be assembled at Alstom’s Salzgitter plant ...