Passenger rail news – Page 186
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NewsSchleswig-Holstein signs Netz Mitte contracts
GERMANY: The Land of Schleswig-Holstein signed operating contracts for Netz Mitte passenger services with DB Regio and Nordbahn on July 16. The two contracts run for 13 years from the December 2014 timetable change. DB Regio has been awarded Contract A, covering regional express services carrying 22 000 passengers/day ...
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NewsQueen opens rebuilt Reading station
UK: The rebuilt station at Reading on Network Rail’s Great Western Main Line was officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on July 17, marking the completion of a four-year project. The station reconstruction forms a key element in the £897m Reading Station Area Redevelopment programme, which is now expected to ...
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NewsFirst Roca electrification contracts awarded
ARGENTINA: The Ministry of the Interior & Transport has selected Supercemento SAIC as preferred bidder for the first two contracts to be awarded under the project to upgrade and electrify at 25 kV 50 Hz AC the 52⋅6 km between Plaza Constitución and La Plata on the Roca commuter network ...
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NewsBrno region rail development agreed
CZECH REPUBLIC: A memorandum setting out plans to increase access to rail transport in the Jihomoravský region and provide more options for commuting into Brno has been signed by the Ministry of Transport, infrastructure manager SŽDC, the regional authority, three municipalities and regional transport authority Kordis JMK. ...
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NewsNot just the ticket
TICKETS: A second screen showing real-time passenger information and advertisements is incorporated into 70 FareGo Sales ST|40 ticket vending machines which Scheidt & Bachmann has supplied to Bayerische Oberlandbahn. The TVMs also have a touch-screen interface for buying tickets, an ‘eco mode’ to reduce energy consumption and a glass ...
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NewsLondon Overground EMU shortlist announced
UK: Bombardier, CAF, Hitachi and Siemens have been shortlisted for a contract to supply 39 four-car ‘metro-style’ electric multiple-units for London Overground services, Transport for London announced on July 15. Tenders are to be submitted by the end of October, and TfL expects to announce the successful bidder by ...
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NewsFootbath luxury in Yamagata Shinkansen trainset
JAPAN: East Japan Railway will put into service a luxury trainset on its Yamagata Shinkansen with effect from July 19, as part of an ongoing programme to refresh the line’s fleet of mini-shinkansen trainsets. Known as Toreiyu from a combination of Train + Soleil, the six-car trainset has been rebuilt ...
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NewsNEB signs Netz Ostbrandenburg operating contract
GERMANY: The Länder of Brandenburg and Berlin signed contracts for local railway company Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn to operate Netz Ostbrandenburg regional passenger services on July 10. The services on routes north and east of Berlin were tendered as two lots totalling 5 million train-km/year, with NEB named as the winner ...
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NewsCzech-German cross-border reopening
EUROPE: Passenger services returned to the line between Dolní Poustevna in the Czech Republic and Sebnitz in Germany on July 4, almost 70 years after it closed in the aftermath of World War II. The reopened route is used by eight Route U28 return services a day between Rumburk and ...
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NewsSBB orders Stadler EMUs
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways announced two firm orders for Stadler Rail to supply additional electric multiple-units on June 9. A SFr397m order covers 19 six-car double-deck EMUs to be delivered from late 2018. These will enable service frequencies to be increase on the Zürich S-Bahn network. The second order ...
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NewsSouth Coast Rail project management contract awarded
USA: The $2·3bn South Coast Rail project to provide electrified commuter services from Fall River and New Bedford to Boston has moved ‘decisively from planning to design and construction’ Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary & CEO Richard A Davey announced on June 18, when MassDOT awarded Vanesse Hangen Brustlin and ...
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NewsTaiyuan – Xi'an high speed line opens
CHINA: The 570 km Taiyuan – Xi'an high speed line opened with a national timetable change on July 1. The Passenger-Dedicated Line cuts journey times between the cities from 10 h to 3 h, and will eventually form part of a 900 km route from Datong to Xi'an designed for ...
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NewsSeries W7 Shinkansen ready to start testing
JAPAN: JR West is preparing to start testing the Series W7 trainsets it is acquiring for use on the Hokuriku Shinkansen which opens for revenue service in March 2015. Two trainsets are being commissioned at Hakusan depot, around 10 km west of Kanazawa, ready for the start of test running ...
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NewsKeolis takes over Boston commuter services
USA: Keolis Commuter Services took over from Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co as operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's 14 Boston commuter rail services with effect from July 1, saying it would improve punctuality, safety, cleanliness and customer service on the fifth largest commuter network in the USA, and the ...
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NewsSmart Ticketing Alliance formally established
EUROPE: Transport smart card operators from 10 countries joined five founder members in Brussels to formally launch the Smart Ticketing Alliance on June 24. The international non-profit association is the result of a memorandum of understanding which was signed two years ago. It aims to lead the way towards ...
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NewsHualien – Taitung electrification inaugurated
TAIWAN: Electric train services began running between Hualien and Taitung on June 28, completing the electrification of Taiwan Railways Administration’s East Coast main line. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou said the construction period had been cut from seven to five years, despite difficult geological and ...
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NewsAddis Abeba - Djibouti electric locomotives ordered
ETHIOPIA: A contract for CSR Zhuzhou to supply 35 electric locomotives for the future Addis Abeba – Djibouti standard gauge line was signed on June 19. Delivery of the three passenger locomotives and 32 freight locos able to haul trains of up to 4 000 tonnes will begin in October ...
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NewsRenewed fleet brings savings
ESTONIA: Passenger operator Elron has completed its fleet renewal programme with the delivery of the last of 38 Stadler Flirt multiple-units. In August 2010 Elron, then known as Elektriraudtee, ordered 12 three-car and six four-car EMUs and 20 DMUs incorporating supercapacitor energy storage to boost acceleration, the first diesel version ...
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NewsETR610 arrives in Switzerland
SWITZERLAND: The first of a batch of eight ETR610 New Pendolino tilting trainsets ordered by Swiss Federal Railways in July 2012 has been delivered from Alstom’s Savigliano plant in Italy. Type approval for Switzerland was completed before delivery, and dynamic trials are now underway with the aim of two trainsets ...
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NewsNew trains and ticketing as National Express retains Essex Thameside
UK: The Department for Transport announced that incumbent National Express had been selected as preferred bidder for the next Essex Thameside franchise on June 27. The franchise covers a largely self-contained network of commuter services into London Fenchurch Street station from Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness. The contract will ...