Passenger rail news – Page 183
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NewsZSSK seeks locomotives and coaches
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK has called separate tenders for the supply of multi-voltage electric locomotives and coaches. Six four-axle 6·0 MW electric locomotives with a maximum speed of 200 km/h are required to replace ageing Škoda Class 350 locomotives on EC and IC services on the Praha – ...
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NewsWien Hauptbahnhof officially inaugurated
AUSTRIA: Wien Hauptbahnhof was formally inaugurated by President Heinz Fischer when he launched two days of celebrations at the capital's new main station at 10.00 on October 10. The through station integrates north–south and east–west routes including three TEN corridors by replacing the former Südbahnhof and Ostbahnhof termini which ...
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NewsHitachi to build ScotRail EMUs
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe confirmed on October 9 that it has been selected as preferred bidder to supply and maintain a fleet of electric multiple-units for the next ScotRail franchise, which had been awarded to Abellio by Transport Scotland the previous day. Subject to the successful conclusion of negotiations, Hitachi ...
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NewsRDC bids to upgrade the Sylt shuttle
GERMANY: Open access operator RDC Deutschland has submitted proposals to DB Netz for upgrading of the car-carrier shuttle service between Niebüll and Westerland on the island of Sylt. In return for higher access fees that would pay for upgrading of terminals and other infrastructure improvements, RDC Deutschland, the German ...
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NewsAbellio awarded ScotRail franchise
UK: The Abellio subsidiary of Dutch national passenger operator NS has been awarded the next ScotRail franchise, the Scottish Government announced on October 8. Abellio is to take over from current franchisee FirstGroup on April 1 2015. The franchise covers almost all internal passenger services within Scotland, and will run ...
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NewsKoleje Mazowieckie orders Newag EMUs to increase capacity
POLAND: Voivodship-owned operator Koleje Mazowieckie has selected Newag to supply 12 Impuls electric multiple-units between January and November 2015. European Union POIiŚ funding will cover 59% of the 257·3m złoty cost of the order. The five-car Impuls units will be 90·4 m long, enabling them to be operated in pairs ...
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NewsKing opens refurbished Casa-Port station
MOROCCO: King Mohammed VI has formally opened the refurbished station at Casa-Port in the city of Casablanca. The terminus has been redeveloped at a cost of 400m dirhams under a project led by national railway ONCF. The company says that station’s location ‘at the heart of a city undergoing wholesale ...
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NewsCalifornia begins high speed rolling stock procurement
USA: Expressions of interest are to be submitted to the California High Speed Rail Authority by October 22 from potential suppliers of high speed trainsets for the planned 836 km network that would link the San Francisco Bay Area with the Los Angeles basin by 2028. Issuing its call for ...
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NewsTokaido Shinkansen turns 50
JAPAN: Celebrations were held in Tokyo on October 1 to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the world’s first high speed line, between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. The current operator of the Tokaido Shinkansen, JR Central, re-enacted the launch with a ribbon-cutting at 06.00 before dispatching the first ...
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NewsZentralbahn orders more Fink EMUs
SWITZERLAND: Zentralbahn signed a SFr53m contract on September 22 for Stadler Rail to supply five more Fink metre-gauge electric multiple-units. Under the deal signed by ZB Managing Director Renato Fasciati and Stadler Rail Group CEO Peter Spuhler, the three-car rack EMUs are to be delivered in late 2016. They ...
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NewsSuburban Talgo train design proposal
INNOTRANS: Patentes Talgo has unveiled a proposal for suburban and regional trainsets based on the Talgo concept of short, lightweight cars with independent wheels. The proposed train has a Bo’2’2’2’Bo wheel arrangement and would be suitable for 1 435, 1 520 or 1 668 mm gauges. A formation just ...
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NewsThello to launch Marseille – Milano service
EUROPE: Open access passenger operator Thello is to launch a daily service between Marseille in France and Milano in Italy with the timetable change on December 14. Announcing the new route on September 23, Thello said that intermediate stops would include Cannes, Nice, Savona and Genoa, and that it would ...
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NewsTrack renewals completed for Chicago – St Louis upgrade
USA: Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn joined officials from Union Pacific and Amtrak in Granite City on September 22 to mark the completion of track renewals on UP’s Chicago – St Louis route, marking ‘a significant milestone’ in the programme to upgrade the route for passenger services to operate at ...
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NewsRENFE to order 30 high speed trainsets
SPAIN: Development Minister Ana Pastor announced at the opening of InnoTrans on September 23 that national operator RENFE would order 30 more high speed trains over the next four years. Orders for a further 10 gauge-convertible trainsets would also be placed, she said. Pastor assured the Spanish railway supply industry ...
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NewsDB announces Pesa Link firm order
GERMANY: Unveiling the prototype Pesa Link diesel multiple-unit ordered under a framework agreement for 470 trainsets signed at the previous InnoTrans, on September 24 DB Board Member for Rail Technology Dr-Ing Heike Hanagarth announced an order for a further 26 trains. The deal was inked at a colourful ceremony by ...
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NewsHelsinki exercises second Flirt option
FINLAND: Helsinki train procurement body Junakalusto exercised an option for 34 Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units on September 24. This is the second option on the order for 32 trainsets placed in 2006, and is worth €200m. Deliveries are due between the start of 2016 and spring 2017, with the ...
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NewsEuropean Commission approves Thalys restructuring
EUROPE: The European Commission announced on September 22 that it had approved the restructuring of Thalys as a 60:40 joint venture between SNCF of France and SNCB of Belgium. Operating high speed services from Paris to Brussels, Amsterdam and Köln, Thalys had originally been established in partnership with DB of ...
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NewsButler extension opens in Perth
AUSTRALIA: The first scheduled service on the 7∙5 km extension of the Transperth network from Clarkson to Butler departed from Butler station at 11.51 on September 21. Built at a cost of A$221m, the Butler extension has opened ‘several months early and A$20m under budget’, according to the Government of ...
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NewsOyster readers begin accepting National Rail ITSO smart cards
UK: Passengers using the Key smart card issued by train operator Southern and its parent rail and bus company Go-Ahead can now buy tickets to London including weekly, monthly or annual Travelcards which are valid for unlimited travel on public transport within Greater London. The official launch by Transport ...
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NewsNanchang - Changsha high speed line opens
CHINA: The 342 km Passenger-Dedicated Line running east–west between Nanchang in Jiangxi province and Changsha in Hunan opened on September 16. The line serves Nanchang South, Gao’an, Xinyu North, Yichun, Pingxiang North, Liling East and Changsha South stations. The opening cuts travel times from 3½ h to 1½ h, with ...