Passenger rail news – Page 193
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NewsBattery EMU ready to start testing
JAPAN: East Japan Railway's Series EV-E301 prototype 1·5 kV DC/battery electric multiple-unit was delivered to the Karasuyama Line on January 22, ready for the start of test running. Branded 'Accum', the two-car unit is derived from the experimental 'Smart Denchi-kun' battery railcar which was tested on the same line in ...
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NewsNew Thameslink Class 700 train mock-up on show to public
UK: A mock-up of the future Class 700 Desiro City electric multiple-units which Siemens is building for Thameslink commuter services through London is to be displayed to the public this month. Siemens, the Department for Transport and current Thameslink/Great Northern franchisee First Capital Connect will be showing the mock-up ...
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NewsSNCF to expand Eurostar terminal in Lille
FRANCE: SNCF’s Gares et Connexions business unit has announced plans to double the capacity of the Eurostar terminal at Lille Europe station in a seven-month project valued at €3m. Work to expand both the waiting areas and security zone of the ‘Transmanche terminal’ will begin in March for completion by ...
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NewsGySEV orders Desiro Mainline EMUs
EUROPE: GySEV has awarded Siemens a contract to supply five Desiro Mainline electric multiple-units by May 2016. The EMUs are to be deployed on services across the border between Hungary and Austria, from Fertöszentmiklós to Neusiedl am See and from Deutschkreutz to Wulkaprodersdorf and Eisenstadt. Siemens was awarded ...
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NewsSJ to refurbish and repower its SJ2000 fleet
SWEDEN: State-owned passenger operator SJ announced on January 16 that it is to invest SKr3·5bn in the modernisation and repowering of its 36 SJ2000 tilting trains. Originally designated X2000, the 200 km/h trains date from the late 1980s and SJ had been considering whether to refurbish or replace them. The ...
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NewsInterCity East Coast franchise shortlist announced
UK: The Department for Transport announced the shortlisted bidders for the InterCity East Coast passenger franchise on January 17. East Coast Trains Ltd (FirstGroup plc); Keolis/Eurostar East Coast Ltd (Keolis (UK) Ltd and Eurostar International Ltd); Inter City Railways Ltd (90% Stagecoach Transport Holdings Ltd, 10% Virgin Holdings Ltd). ...
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NewsVareo diesel multiple-unit unveiled
GERMANY: The first of 56 Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units for Dieselnetz Köln services was unveiled at Köln Hauptbahnhof on January 15. The 140 km/h DMUs units have real-time information screens, at-seat power sockets, CCTV, an accessible toilet and multi-purpose spaces for bicycles and prams. The 390 kW MTU powerpacks ...
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NewsPolish regional train operator decentralised
POLAND: The local divisions of country-wide regional train operator Przewozy Regionalne gained autonomy with effect from January 1, giving them greater management freedom accompanied by decentralised accounting, cost allocation and debts. PR was originally formed by transferring the regional passenger activities of national railway PKP to the collective ownership of ...
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NewsAlstom delivers high-capacity EMU to SuperVia
BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro commuter operator SuperVia has taken delivery of an initial Alstom Metropolis electric multiple-unit for testing, a year after the €105m order for 10 eight-car units was placed in December 2012. Entry into service is planned by the end of March, with deliveries to be completed by ...
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NewsCambridge Science Park station to incorporate Game of Life
UK: Construction of a new station to serve the Cambridge Science Park in the Chesterton area of north Cambridge is due to get underway shortly, following the granting of planning approval last month. Opening is planned for December 2015. Around 3 000 passengers/day are predicted to the use the station, ...
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NewsMetro-North access to Penn Station endorsed
USA: Speaking in Albany on January 8, the governor of New York State Andrew Cuomo offered his support for a commuter rail investment project which would see MTA Metro-North’s New Haven Line trains routed over Amtrak’s Hell Gate bridge into New York Penn Station. Provisionally costed at around $1bn, ...
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NewsKeolis wins Massachusetts commuter rail operating contract
USA: Massachusetts Department of Transportation has selected Keolis Commuter Services for a contract to operate the state's commuter trains from July 1. The eight-year operating contract is worth $2·69bn, with options for two two-year options which would take the value to $4·26bn. The network centred on Boston carried 36·4 million ...
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NewsChannel Tunnel mobile phone coverage agreed
EUROPE: Eurostar and Le Shuttle passengers will be able to access mobile communications networks in both bores of the Channel Tunnel from March, after Eurotunnel signed a 10-year agreement with UK telecoms companies EE and Vodafone on January 9. Under the agreement EE and Vodafone customers will be able to ...
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NewsTesting underway on Ankara – Istanbul fast line
TURKEY: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined newly-appointed transport minister Lütfi Elvan in the cab of a CAF trainset to travel over the Arifiye – Köseköy section of the Ankara – Istanbul high speed corridor on December 27. Elvan has replaced Binali Yıldırım, who has stood down after 11 years ...
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NewsIsrael Railways opens Sderot station
ISRAEL: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the official opening of a railway extension from Ashkelon south to Sderot on December 24. Public services began at 16.00, and to encourage ridership local residents are able to apply for up to three months of free travel. The building at the US$56m Sderot ...
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NewsBombardier to operate Vancouver commuter service
CANADA: Vancouver regional transport authority TransLink has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract to operate West Coast Express commuter rail services from May 2014. The C$17m contract runs for five years, with options for three additional five-year periods. West Coast Express was launched in 1995 and now carries more than 2·8 ...
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NewsEurostar tops 10 million passengers
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar International carried more than 10 million passengers during 2013, setting a new ridership record. The annual total was slightly up on the 9·9 million handled in the previous year. Announcing the milestone on December 30, Eurostar reported that it had now carried more ...
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NewsChikmagalur line opened
INDIA: Minister of Railways Mallikarjun Kharge opened South Western Railway’s 45 km Kadur – Chikmagalur line on November 19. The broad gauge branch connects Chikmagalur, Kanivehalli, Sakarayapatna and Bisalehalli to the Hubli – Bangalore main line, and includes four major and 75 minor bridges. The project was first proposed in ...
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NewsEBA approves Velaro D high speed trains for domestic operation
GERMANY: After many months of delays, the first four of 16 Class 407 high speed trainsets for Deutsche Bahn have been approved for use in Germany by EBA, the national railway safety authority. DB placed an order worth around €500m with Siemens in November 2008 for 15 Class 407 trainsets ...
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NewsSiemens selected for 200 km/h US passenger locomotive order
USA: Illinois Department of Transportation announced on December 19 that it had selected Siemens for a contract to supply approximately 35 diesel locomotives with maximum speed of 200 km/h. The deal has still to be finalised, but a notice of intent has been issued by IDOT, which is leading a ...