Passenger rail news – Page 188
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NewsVR calls tenders for double-deck inter-city fleet
FINLAND: National operator VR Group has begun procurement of 46 double-deck coaches for 200 km/h inter-city services, with options for a further 185. These would replace the current Express coaches dating from the 1970s and 1980s which are nearing the end of their life. Announcing the European tender on June ...
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NewsPhiladelphia station redevelopment plan launched
USA: A consortium led by architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrell has been selected to work up development proposals for Amtrak’s 30th Street station in Philadelphia. To be completed within two years, the joint master plan has been commissioned by Amtrak, for whom the station is a significant driver of Northeast ...
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NewsGovernor launches Indiana Gateway project
USA: Indiana governor Mike Pence joined FRA Deputy Administrator Karen Hedlund, Amtrak's Chief of State Contracts Michael Franke and Norfolk Southern Assistant Vice-President Jeff Harris at Hammond on May 29 to mark the start of work on the US$71·4m Indiana Gateway project. This is intended to relieve congestion and accelerate ...
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NewsUpgraded stock to work ČD’s Praha – Hamburg services
CZECH REPUBLIC: State-owned passenger operator ČD has called bids for the refurbishment of EuroCity and InterCity coaches to be used on Praha – Berlin – Hamburg services from the December 2015 timetable change. The move follows the signing of a collaboration agreement between ČD and DB on May 22 for ...
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NewsSerco wins 15-year Caledonian Sleeper franchise
UK: Serco has won a 15-year franchise to operate the Caledonian Sleeper service between London and various Scottish destinations from April 2015, replacing incumbent FirstGroup.At present, two trains operate in each directions on six nights per week; a ‘lowland’ service connecting London Euston with Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and a ...
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NewsVandalism delays Eskisehir – Gebze high speed opening
TURKEY: A series of vandalism incidents has delayed the opening of the next section of the 570 km Istanbul – Ankara high speed corridor, the Transport Ministry confirmed in a statement on May 26.Opening of the next section of the line was expected in the first quarter of 2014, covering ...
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NewsVeolia Verkehr awards heavy maintenance contract to DB
GERMANY: Veolia Verkehr has awarded DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung a 'double-digit million' euro contract to undertake the periodic heavy maintenance of 78 diesel multiple-units in 2014-20. The Alstom Lint and Bombardier Talent DMUs are used on services operated by Veolia's NordWestBahn, Bayerische Regiobahn and Nord-Ostsee-Bahn subsidiaries. The contract covers heavy maintenance ...
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NewsGovia wins Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern rail franchise
UK: The Department of Transport announced on May 23 that it had selected Govia to operate the future Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern passenger franchise. Covering regional and commuter services into London in an area bounded by King's Lynn, Cambridge, Peterborough, Bedford, Southampton, Brighton and Ashford, TSGN will be the ...
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NewsTver unveils proposed EMU
RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Tver Carriage Works unveiled a mock-up of a planned modular electric multiple-unit family on May 15, and expects to test two prototypes later this year. The EG2Tv is intended to combine modern technology similar to that used by foreign rolling stock manufacturers with the Tver plant’s lower costs ...
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NewsCamrail launches Yaoundé – Douala InterCity express
CAMEROON: A non-stop passenger service linking Yaoundé to Douala was introduced on May 5, three days after an inauguration ceremony led by Prime Minister Philémon Yang and Bolloré Africa Logistics CEO Dominique Lafont. Bolloré’s railway concessionaire Camrail says the trains will offer ‘a level of comfort never previously available ...
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NewsSNCB and NS sign distribution agreement with Amadeus
EUROPE: BeNeRail International, the international sales and distribution joint venture set up in 2003 by the Belgian and Dutch national operators, announced on May 14 that it had agreed to become the launch customer for a community IT services platform being developed by software specialist Amadeus.BeNeRail International manages a raft ...
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NewsWestbahn quits CER
EUROPE: Austrian open access inter-city operator Westbahn Management GmbH has decided to ‘distance itself’ from the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies, accusing CER of attempting to block liberalisation and market opening in the European rail sector. ‘CER is more and more against the overall vision of the EU ...
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NewsAgreement to continue VIA Rail service in New Brunswick
CANADA: An agreement has provisionally been reached to support the continued operation of VIA Rail’s Ocean service over a 71 km section of the former New Brunswick East Coast railway, Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced on May 12.The Ocean runs three times per week between Montréal and Halifax, but ...
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NewsStadler wins Gotthard base tunnel high speed train contract
SWITZERLAND: Stadler Rail has beaten rival bidders Alstom and Talgo to win a SFr980m contract to supply 29 articulated high speed trains for international services through the Gotthard base tunnel. Announcing the order on May 9, Swiss Federal Railways said that Stadler Rail was the clear winner with a ...
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NewsRussian Railways takes delivery of first Talgo
RUSSIA: The first of seven trainsets which RZD's Federal Passenger Co ordered from Patentes Talgo in June 2011 has been delivered to Moscow. Following trials at the Shcherbinka test circuit, entry into revenue service is planned for later this year. Four 1 520 mm gauge Talgo trainsets are to be ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur airport rail link extended to KLIA2
MALAYSIA: A 2·14 km extension of Kuala Lumpur’s airport rail link opened along with a new terminal for budget airlines on May 2. The KLIA2 terminal replaces a previous facility which required passengers arriving at the airport’s main terminal by rail to change to a shuttle bus. Rail link ...
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NewsNew South Wales to order 'off-the-shelf' Intercity fleet
AUSTRALIA: Plans to order around 65 trainsets totalling 520 cars for NSW TrainLink Intercity services between Sydney and the Central Coast, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and Illawarra were announced by New South Wales Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian on May 8. The government is to begin ...
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NewsMelbourne Rail Link in A$14·5bn rail funding announcement
AUSTRALIA: 'The largest investment in transport infrastructure in Victoria's history' was announced by the state's coalition government in its 2014-15 budget on May 6. The A$24bn of planned road and rail infrastructure spending includes A$14·5bn for rail, with the biggest rail projects being the Melbourne Rail Link and the Cranbourne ...
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NewsTolstoy on Tolstoy
EUROPE: Passengers are promised the ‘atmosphere of Russia’s cultural environment at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries’ when Russian Railways’ Federal Passenger Co makes changes to the Leo Tolstoy overnight service between Moscow and Helsinki from June 1. This is linked to the ...
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NewsDeploying artificial intelligence to spot fare dodgers
SPAIN: The use of a system 'based on artificial intelligence' to spot passengers attempting to avoid payment by following other users through ticket barriers is being tested by Catalan regional operator FGC and Barcelona-based Awaait Artificial Intelligence. Named Detector, the system uses a camera to watch the gate area, and ...