Passenger rail news – Page 207
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NewsBombardier to operate Maryland commuter services
USA: Bombardier has been awarded a contract to operate Maryland Transit Administration's MARC Train commuter services on the Camden and Brunswick lines into Washington DC. Bombardier's tender of $204·7m for the five year eight month contract undercut rival bids from Keolis and Veolia. The handover period is expected to take ...
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NewsAlstom to supply EFE’s new train fleet
CHILE: State railway EFE announced on October 18 that it has selected Alstom to supply 12 EMUs for its Santiago – Rancagua route. Representing an investment of US$68m, the five-year contract includes maintenance and an option for the supply of a further eight trainsets, and can be extended up to ...
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NewsBengbu - Hefei high speed line opens
CHINA: The 132 km Bengbu - Hefei high speed line entered service on October 16, with the departure at 08.10 of trains G263 from Beijing South and G262 from Hefei. The north-south line links Bengbu on the Beijing - Shanghai Passenger-Dedicated Line with Hefei and the east-west high speed line ...
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NewsUpdate on new Eurostar trains
EUROPE: Eurostar provided an update on its £700m fleet investment programme on October 18, saying production of the 10 new Siemens Velaro e320 trainsets at Krefeld which began last year was progressing well. The first of its existing fleet of high speed trainsets is now undergoing a ...
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NewsJapan to fund four-tracking in West Java
INDONESIA: Work is expected to begin by the end of the month to increase capacity on a congested mixed-traffic corridor in the suburbs of Jakarta. Central to the project is the four tracking and resignalling of the current 32 route-km double-track alignment between Manggarai and Cikarang. State ...
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NewsDfT plans interim West Coast franchise
UK: The Department for Transport announced on October 15 that it intended to launch a competition for an interim franchise to operate the Inter-City West Coast franchise, following Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s decision on October 3 to cancel the previous refranchising round due to ‘significant technical flaws’. Open to ‘all ...
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NewsEngineering work from the passenger perspective
UK: The results of research published by Passenger Focus last month include the finding that 55% of respondents claimed that they would not make a journey by rail if part of it was by replacement bus. However, if the train were to be diverted around engineering work, 75% of respondents ...
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NewsTesting starts on northernmost PDL
CHINA: Test running on the Harbin – Dalian Passenger-Dedicated Line commenced on October 8, when the first train was dispatched from the new Harbin West station at 07.30. Designed for operation at up to 350 km/h, the 921 km line has been under construction since August 2007, at a cost ...
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NewsLubelskie orders Pesa DMUs
POLAND: Lubelskie voivodship has signed a contract with a consortium of Pesa and ZNTK MM for the supply of three two-car DMUs to operate the Rejowiec – Zamość/Bełżec, Lublin – Stalowa Wola and Lublin – Lubartów lines. Under the deal valued at 24m złoty, the first unit is due to ...
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NewsZhengzhou - Wuhan high speed line opens
CHINA: Completion of the latest phase of the Beijing - Guangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line was marked with simultaneous departures of 380AL trainsets from each end of the Zhengzhou - Wuhan section at 08.59 on September 28. The 536 km route links Wuhan in Hubei province with the city of Zhengzhou, ...
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NewsJR East restores Tokyo’s historic station building
JAPAN: East Japan Railway reopened the historic station building at Tokyo Station on October 1 following a five-year restoration costing ¥50bn. A formal ceremony on September 30 to mark the occasion was cancelled because of an impending typhoon. One of the Japanese capital’s most famous buildings, the 335-m long station ...
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NewsAll franchising on hold as InterCity West Coast award cancelled
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has commissioned an urgent review of the franchise tendering programme, following the discovery of significant failings in the bidding process for the InterCity West Coast franchise which was due to change hands on December 9. The Department of Transport had selected FirstGroup ...
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NewsReliveried TGV POS spearheads Lyria expansion
EUROPE: Franco-Swiss train operator Lyria SAS unveiled a new look on September 25, presenting in Paris the first of 19 refurbished TGV POS sets which it is acquiring to operate an expanded range of cross-border services between France and Switzerland. Originally established as a joint venture between the two state ...
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NewsDB orders more Twindexx Vario electric multiple-units
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn announced a €50m firm order for a further five Bombardier Transportation Twindexx Vario double-deck electric multiple-units on October 1. Delivery is scheduled to start in the second half of 2014. The four and five-car 160 km/h EMUs will be used on regional services south from the ...
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NewsSumitomo selected for four-state coach contract
USA: The California, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri state departments of transportation have selected Sumitomo Corp of America for a jointly-awarded contract to supply 130 double-deck coaches. Sumitomo Corp submitted a bid of $352·3m, and was named the preferred choice on September 26. The contract is expected to be finalised in ...
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NewsJR Central unveils N700A high speed train
JAPAN: JR Central has unveiled its next generation of high speed trains to operate on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, which is expected to enter revenue service from February 8 2013. Unveiled at the railway's Hammamatsu depot on September 18, the new trains are officially designated Series N700-1000, but are ...
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NewsIsrael Railways orders double-deck coaches
ISRAEL: Israel Railways has awarded Bombardier Transportation a firm order to supply a further 72 double-deck coaches between March 2014 and February 2015. The €122m contract announced on September 26 was placed within a framework agreement signed in October 2010. ISR has now ordered a total of 222 vehicles under ...
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NewsRebuilt Ådalsbanan officially reopened
SWEDEN: Minister for Infrastructure Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd officially opened the upgraded Ådalsbanan between Sundsvall and the southern end of the Botniabanan on September 14. The minister marked the event by inserting the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle map of the Stockholm – Umeå route. During the course of the SKr6·6bn ...
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NewsCasablanca – Kénitra upgrading starts
MOROCCO: A ceremony on September 25 attended by King Mohammed VI marked the start of modernisation of the Casablanca – Kénitra main line to increase capacity by around 50%. National railway ONCF has cited strong growth in passenger numbers on the Tanger – Marrakech axis in recent ...
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NewsDesert Hawk passenger locomotive mock-up on show
INNOTRANS: Vossloh Rail Vehicles displayed a mock-up of the front end of a 'Desert Hawk' passenger locomotive concept which it has developed in response to recent and expected future calls for tenders in the Middle East, including a reported joint venture with CAF for Saudi Arabia. The proposed locomotive would ...