Passenger rail news – Page 202
-
NewsCaltrain upgrading deal agreed
USA: Work to upgrade and electrify the Caltrain commuter rail corridor between San Francisco and San Jose to accommodate high speed trains is set to move forward, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the California High Speed Rail Authority and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board which ...
-
NewsOperating contracts awarded by Länder
GERMANY: The Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has awarded DB Regio a contract to operate Ost-West services for 15 years from 2015. The contract covers the operation of around 3·5 million train-km/year on non-electrified routes from Pasewalk to Lübeck, Grambow, Bützow and Ueckermünde. Meanwhile, Sachsen-Anhalt and Brandenburg have awarded the Mitteldeutsche S-Bahn-Netz ...
-
NewsAirline training for railway staff
UK: Train operator First Great Western has reached agreement with low-cost airline Flybe for more than 1 000 of its staff to participate in a purpose-designed customer service training course at the Flybe Training Academy near Exeter and at FGW's training unit at London Paddington over the next nine months. ...
-
NewsFour railways save money with a joint train order
SWITZERLAND: Four metre-gauge operators in western Switzerland have jointly selected Stadler Bussnang to supply a total of 17 two and three-car electric multiple-units worth a total of SFr150m. Announcing the orders on March 13, Stadler said joint procurement had saved SFr28m compared to separate competitions and should offer long-term savings ...
-
NewsOperator sought for Den Haag - Brussels service
NETHERLANDS: Den Haag's city-owned company The Hague Trains Holding has invited expressions of interest in a two-year contract to operate inter-city services between Den Haag and Brussels. An OJEU notice was published on March 13, following informal discussions with six potential operators and approval from the Dutch completion authority for ...
-
NewsTfL seeks Crossrail operator
UK: Transport for London has placed a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union inviting expressions of interest in the concession to operate Crossrail passenger services. Potential operators have until the end of April to respond. The concession would be similar to the existing London Overground inner-suburban contract, ...
-
NewsBrisbane EMU suppliers shortlisted
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland state government has shortlisted two consortia for a PPP concession to supply a fleet of at least 75 six-car EMUs to operate Brisbane suburban services, Transport & Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson confirmed on March 5. He added the New Generation Rolling Stock programme was Queensland’s ...
-
NewsBringing mountains, woods and clouds to train toilets
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has launched a programme to upgrade its on-train toilets, saying clean facilities are an important part of the passenger experience. Cubicles are being refurbished with the installation of wall coverings with images of mountains, woodland, clouds in a blue sky or blue tiles. SBB’s ...
-
NewsDesiro fleet upgraded for higher speed operation
UK: The maximum speed of 30 Class 350/1 Desiro electric multiple-units operating on the West Coast Main Line has been raised from 160 km/h to 177 km/h (110 mile/h) under Project 110, which brought together operator London Midland, train manufacturer Siemens, rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains, infrastructure manager Network ...
-
NewsDB approves longer ICx trainsets
GERMANY: On March 5 Deutsche Bahn's supervisory board approved plans for its future ICx inter-city trainsets to be up to 12 rather than up to 10 cars long, increasing the number of seats from 724 to 830. DB said this reflects an 'encouraging increase' in the number of long-distance passengers, ...
-
NewsStadler awarded Beograd suburban train contract
SERBIA: A contract for Stadler Rail to supply 21 Flirt electric multiple-units for use on Beograd suburban services was signed by national railway ŽS on March 4. The €100m order is being funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. The first of the EMUs is scheduled for delivery ...
-
NewsNo private finance for Crossrail train fleet
UK: Plans for private finance to meet the majority of the estimated £1bn cost of procuring around 600 electric multiple-unit cars and associated maintenance facilities for Crossrail have been dropped, Transport for London announced on March 1. The largest single contract to be awarded under the Crossrail project is now ...
-
NewsFrancilien arrives at Paris Est
FRANCE: President of the Ile-de-France regional council and Paris transport authority STIF Jean-Paul Huchon joined SNCF Transilien Director General Bénédicte Tilloy and RFF Ile-de-France Regional Director François Régus Orizet on February 27 to mark the entry into service of the first of 35 Francilien EMUs for the suburban network serving ...
-
NewsMÁV and GySEV order Flirts
HUNGARY: National railway MÁV and Austria-Hungary cross-border operator GySEV jointly selected sole bidder Stadler Rail to supply a total of 48 Flirt electric multiple-units on February 26. The order covers 42 EMUs for MÁV and six for GySEV. The four-car units will have 200 seats and a maximum speed of ...
-
NewsMarket pricing boosts high speed sales by 38%
SPAIN: Ticket sales for RENFE high speed services have increased by 38% year-on-year following the introduction of a new market-based fares structure, according to Development Minister Ana Pastor. A total of 824 188 tickets had been sold since the new fares were introduced, she told the lower house of the ...
-
NewsA vision of rail in 2050
EUROPE: A high-level vision of the future shape of rail transport was officially launched at the European Rail Awards in Brussels on February 26, hosted by CER and UNIFE. Entitled ‘Challenge 2050’, the pan-sector study outlines the rail sector’s ‘shared perception’ of what Europe’s railways could look like in the ...
-
NewsNSB confirms Flirt order
NORWAY: Stadler Rail announced on February 26 that Norwegian national passenger operator NSB had placed a firm order for a further 16 five-car Flirt electric multiple-units to be delivered between early 2014 and early 2015. The order has been placed within the framework of a 2008 contract covering the supply ...
-
NewsLuhanskteplovoz DMU enters service
UKRAINE: A three-car diesel multiple-unit supplied by Luhanskteplovoz at cost of 41m hryvnia entered service on routes around Kolomyia and Chernivtsi during January. The unit has two cars powered by MTU engines and one trailer car, with a total capacity of 336 passengers in a single class of accommodation with ...
-
NewsSNCF unveils Ouigo low-cost TGV service
FRANCE: SNCF President Guillaume Pepy and Director of the long-distance passenger business Barbara Dalibard unveiled details of the national operator's 'Ouigo' branded low-cost TGV service on February 19. From April 2 Ouigo services will run from Marne-la-Vallée Chessy station on the eastern outskirts of Paris to Marseille and Montpellier. ...
-
NewsVeolia Transport awarded Swedish contract
SWEDEN: The Blekinge, Kalmar, Kronoberg and Skåne transport authorities have jointly awarded Veolia Transport a contract to operate three local rail services for five years from December 2013, with an option for a further three years. The contract covers the Emmaboda to Karlskrona and Kalmar and Hässleholm - Växjö routes, ...