Passenger rail news – Page 206
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NewsTrenord to buy 23 multiple-units
ITALY: The board of Lombardia regional train operator Trenord announced plans to exercise options for the purchase of 23 additional multiple-units on November 30. A firm order worth €130m is to be placed for nine three-car and four five-car AnsaldoBreda TSR double-deck electric multiple-units. A further 10 four-car Stadler ...
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NewsUK rail ticketing to go in the cloud
UK: IT consultancy Smart421 has been awarded a contract to develop a Live Sales Management system to handle Ticket on Departure services for Rail Settlement Plan Ltd, the organisation which manages ticketing on behalf of the train operating companies. TOD allows tickets booked online to be collected from self-service ...
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NewsJR East unveils Super Komachi high speed train
JAPAN: The first of 23 production Series E6 trainsets being supplied to East Japan Railway for Akita mini-Shinkansen services was officially unveiled at the railway's Sendai rolling stock maintenance depot on November 22, where the trains were officially designated Super Komachi. Due for delivery between November 2012 and the spring ...
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NewsBombardier to supply more VLocity cars
AUSTRALIA: Victoria's state Premier Ted Baillieu announced an order for Bombardier to supply a further 40 VLocity diesel multiple-unit cars on November 26. To be built at Bombardier's Dandenong South factory for delivery in 2014-16, the vehicles will be a mix of new DMUs and extra cars to lengthen existing ...
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NewsWi-fi proves popular with passengers
AUSTRALIA: Nomad Digital has announced details of passenger usage trends to mark the millionth user session on Queensland Rail's free onboard wi-fi. Two-thirds of Queensland Rail's commuter trains are now equipped with Nomad Digital's wi-fi technology, and on average it is used by 58 000 passengers a week, for 30 ...
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NewsSunbury electrification inaugurated
AUSTRALIA: The latest extension of the electrification on Melbourne's suburban network was inaugurated on November 18, when Victoria's Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder boarded the first electric train to carry passengers from Sunbury. The A$270m project to electrify the short section of the Melbourne - Bendigo line beyond the ...
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NewsCoaches designed for a long and cold run
CHINA: Drawing on vehicles developed for the Lhasa route, CSR Qingdao Sifang is building a family of 120 km/h passenger coaches to replace K3 and K4 cars operated on services from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar and Moscow. The 13-day round trip requires vehicles able to cope with sandstorms as well as ...
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NewsRail motorway, electrification and passenger plans announced
FRANCE: Visiting Boulogne-sur-Mer on November 12, Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier announced that a third piggyback service is to be launched to connect Bayonne near the Spanish border with Dourges south of Lille. Expected to start operations around 2015, the Autoroute Ferroviairie Atlantique would run via Bordeaux and Longueau. Cuvillier also ...
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NewsNSB orders more Stadler Flirts
NORWAY: Government guarantees which will allow national passenger operator NSB to purchase a further 16 Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units were announced by Transport Minister Marit Arnstad on November 15. The new EMUs will be the Class 75 commuter version of the NSB Flirt family, and are to replace older Class ...
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NewsLEO Express carries first passengers
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access inter-city operator LEO Express launched its first passenger-carrying services between Praha and Ostrava on November 13. The trial service of two round trips a day runs until November 16, as part of the final stage of the approvals process for its fleet of five Stadler Flirt ...
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NewsSouthern plans EMU order to support rolling stock cascade programme
UK: Southern announced on November 14 that is developing proposals in conjunction with the Department for Transport to procure 116 electric multiple-unit cars, with an option for a further 100. Procurement would be undertaken through the Link-Up system. An order for new vehicles would assist DfT in the rolling stock ...
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NewsEuroMaint Rail expands to undertake coach project
SWEDEN: This month EuroMaint is to begin work on a contract to refurbish 55 second class coaches for national passenger operator SJ. The project will run until the first quarter of 2014, and is an option on a deal for the refurbishment of 160 coaches undertaken in 2009-11. Seats and ...
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NewsFirst Vectron handed over to Railpool
GERMANY: The first of six Vectron electric locomotives ordered by leasing company Railpool was formally handed over by Siemens Rail Systems Division CEO Dr Jochen Eickholt on November 7. The Railpool joint venture of HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank was the first customer for the Vectron modular locomotive family, placing ...
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NewsAlstom to maintain Turkish high speed train fleet
TURKEY: State railway TCDD has awarded Alstom a €22·3m two-year contract to service and maintain its fleet of 12 six-car CAF high speed trains. The 250 km/h trainsets entered service from 2009, and are deployed on the 245 km Ankara - Eskisehir and 310 km Ankara - Konya routes. They ...
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NewsAlstom to refit Boston fleets
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Alstom Transport two rolling stock modernisation contracts with a total value of €170m. The work is to be undertaken at Alstom's plant in Hornell, New York, with at least 80% US content. The first of the contracts announced on November 1 covers the ...
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NewsFrench reforms will focus on streamlining infrastructure management
FRANCE: Speaking at celebrations in Paris on October 30 to mark the 75th anniversary of SNCF, Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier outlined his thinking on the forthcoming reform of the rail sector, following the ‘national debate’ held last year. Structural reforms to create ‘a French model’ are explored in a ...
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NewsSuperVia orders 60 suburban EMUs
BRAZIL: The governor of Rio de Janeiro state signed a US$306·5m firm order for 60 four-car electric multiple-units on October 24. The 3 kV DC air-conditioned units are scheduled to be delivered from June 2014 for use SuperVia suburban services. The contract was signed with a consortium of China National ...
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NewsIndia plans inter-city EMUs to raise speeds
INDIA: The Ministry of Railways is developing plans to procure electric multiple-units to raise average speeds on Indian Railways' premium inter-city routes under a strategy to provide 'safer, faster, cleaner and comfortable' passenger trains The EMUs would be suitable for running at speeds of 130 to 160 km/h on Shatabdi ...
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NewsPrivate passenger operators in six years
UKRAINE: Private companies could be involved in the Ukrainian passenger rail market within six years, according to Minister of Infrastructure Borys Kolesnikov. Speaking at the inauguration of the renovated Slavyansk station on the Donetsk Railway on October 22, Kolesnikov said current passenger operations are not profitable, and it would not ...
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NewsChiltern Railways gets powers for Oxford to London project
UK: The Secretary of State for Transport has granted legal powers under the Transport & Works Act for the £130m Evergreen 3 project to provide a new route between London and Oxford, Chiltern Railways announced on October 18. A short chord linking the London - Bicester North - Banbury and ...