Passenger rail news – Page 197
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NewsDB orders first tranche of Pesa Link DMUs
GERMANY: Under a framework agreement signed last year with Pesa for the supply of up to 470 units, DB Regio has ordered 36 Link DMUs to operate passenger services on the Sauerland network. A 12-year contract awarded to DB by the transport authorities for Westfalen-Lippe, Rhein-Ruhr and northern Hesse covers ...
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NewsTrack renewals to accelerate passenger services in eastern Michigan
USA: Work began on September 9 on the first element of a three-stage programme to raise speeds over 50 km of mixed-traffic railway in Michigan as part of a wider initiative to accelerate passenger services between Detroit and Chicago. Much of the work will focus on track renewals between Jackson ...
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NewsScheidt & Bachmann to supply Eurobahn ticketing
GERMANY: Scheidt & Bachmann announced on September 6 that it had been awarded a contract by Keolis Deutschland to supply a new ticketing system for the three local networks in Nordrhein-Westfalia and Hesse operated under the Eurobahn brand. The new system is due to enter service in December 2013. The ...
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NewsAfter-sales service for Lorraine Régiolis fleet
FRANCE: In preparation for the delivery later this month of the first of 10 Régiolis multiple-units to operate local TER services in the Lorraine region, Alstom officially opened an after-sales service centre within the SNCF rolling stock maintenance workshops in Metz on September 5. The event was attended by Patrick ...
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NewsEFE orders more Alstom EMUs
CHILE: State railway EFE has ordered a further 12 X’Trapolis Modular EMUs from Alstom, exercising an option within a €54m contract for 12 units announced in October 2012. Each capable of accommodating 376 passengers, the new two-car EMUs are due to enter service during the first half of 2014 on ...
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NewsSee-through station planned for Bydgoszcz
POLAND: Railway holding company PKP SA has unveiled proposals for the modernisation of Bydgoszcz Główna station. This follows a feasibility study undertaken by Ernst & Young and Atkins. Instead of demolishing and replacing the historic island platform building, a new structure is to be built outside the tracks. This would ...
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NewsMaglev testing extended
JAPAN: Trials resumed on August 29 at the magnetic levitation test facility in Yamanashi prefecture following completion of work to extend the guideway. Transport Minister Akihiro Ota and JR Central Chairman Yoshiyuki Kasai were on board a demonstration run that day which attained a speed of 505 km/h. Tests on ...
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NewsTri-Rail operating contract extended
USA: South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has exercised an option for Veolia Transportation to operate Tri-Rail passenger services for a further three years. The operating contract began in July 2007 and will now run to June 2017. Tri-Rail serves a 116 km corridor between West Palm Beach and Miami, including ...
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NewsDB orders double-deck EMUs
GERMANY: Deustche Bahn announced a €216m firm order for a further 18 Bombardier Transportation double-deck electric multiple-units on August 29. The three four-car and 15 six-car Twindexx Vario EMUs will have a maximum speed of 160 km/h. They are scheduled to enter traffic from December 2016 on Augsburg - Treuchtlingen ...
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NewsStadler and Newag win PKP Intercity train order
POLAND: PKP Intercity has selected a consortium of Stadler Rail and Newag for a contract to supply 20 Flirt electric multiple-units for long-distance services by October 2015. The contract announced on August 28 is worth 1·156bn złoty, plus a further 465m złoty for 15 years of maintenance. Bids had also ...
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NewsBuenos Aires commuter routes return to state control
ARGENTINA: By means of a government resolution published on August 21, operation of the Roca, San Martín and Belgrano Sur commuter networks in Buenos Aires is to be transferred to federal railway operating company SOFSE. A new operating agreement is to be concluded within 90 days. Federal railway infrastructure company ...
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NewsFrench loan to support Bandung upgrading
INDONESIA: The government has agreed to support plans to enhance capacity on suburban services around Bandung in West Java under a project that would be partly funded through a US$157m French overseas development loan. The capacity enhancement works cover the 42 route-km corridor between Padalarang to the west of the ...
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NewsSmart Ticketing Alliance agreed
EUROPE: The creation of a Smart Ticketing Alliance as ‘a platform for European and global co-operation’ has been agreed by smart ticketing specification and co-ordination bodies VDV KA of Germany, ITSO from the UK, France’s Afimb, the EU’s Calypso Networks and UITP. The main goals of the Alliance are: ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur airport rail link expands ticketing options
MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur International Airport rail link operator Express Rail Link has put a modernised fare collection system into service. New ticket gates accept contactless smart cards, Touch 'n Go and Visa payWave instead of the former magnetic stripe tickets, while QR barcodes can be used for online purchases and ...
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NewsStates seek standard fleet of diesel locomotives
USA: Illinois Department of Transportation issued a request for proposals for the supply of 32 diesel-electric passenger locomotives on August 8. A winning bidder is expected to be selected in early 2014, with deliveries in 2016-17. The RFP was issued by IDOT as the leader of a group of states ...
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NewsResearching attitudes to ticketing
UK: Independent passenger watchdog London TravelWatch has published Passengers’ Ticket Purchasing & Journey Experiences, a study of users’ attitudes towards ticketing on rail, metro, light rail and bus services in London. The research commissioned from Aecom found that while passengers are confident about purchasing tickets for journeys they make regularly, ...
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NewsSouth West Trains plans suburban train order
UK: Franchised passenger operator South West Trains has invited expressions of interest in separate negotiated contracts to finance and supply between 135 and 250 electric multiple-unit cars to increase capacity on suburban services into London Waterloo. The operator is seeking EMUs of three to five 20 m cars, suitable for ...
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NewsSNCF awards onboard catering contract
FRANCE: SNCF has awarded a joint venture of Newrest (65%) and Elior (35%) a contract to provide catering services on long-distance passenger trains from November 2013. The contract announced on August 6 covers domestic TGV services, Intercité trains on the conventional network and international services on LGV Est operated ...
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NewsHohenzollerische Landesbahn retains operating contract
GERMANY: Following a competitive tender, on August 1 the Land of Baden-Württemberg announced it had selected incumbent Hohenzollerische Landesbahn for a contract to operate Zollernbahn local services between Tübingen and Sigmaringen. The recently-modernised Regio-Shuttle RS1 diesel railcars are to be retained to operate the route, but the new contract requires ...
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NewsDB signs contract for Škoda Transportation push-pull trains
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn signed a €110m contract for Škoda Transportation to supply six double-deck push-pull trainsets on August 5. The trainsets are to be used on regional services linking Nürnberg, Ingolstadt and München which DB Regio is to operate on behalf of the Land of Bayern for 12 years from ...