Passenger rail news – Page 211
-
NewsChiltern Railways puts refurbished Mk III coaches into service
UK: On May 28 Chiltern Railways put into service the first of four rakes of Mk III coaches that are being heavily refurbished and equipped with sliding plug doors. Deployed on London Marylebone - Birmingham Moor Street services, the Mk IIIs are marshalled between a Class 67 locomotive and a ...
-
NewsSochi’s swallow starts to fly
RUSSIA: Trial running has started in Sochi with the first of 38 Lastochka EMUs being supplied by Siemens in time for the 2014 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games. The multiple-unit was due to be presented to RZD Vice-President Valentin Gapanovich and Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov by the ...
-
NewsTaiwan High Speed Rail Corp orders more trains
TAIWAN: Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp has ordered a further four Series 700T trainsets from a consortium of Japanese firms Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Toshiba Corp. The 12-car trains designed for 300 km/h operation are scheduled to be delivered between December 2012 and November 2015. They will enable THSRC to ...
-
NewsMasabi to launch smartphone ticketing in Boston
USA: Mobile ticketing technology company Masabi is supplying Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority with what it says will be the USA’s first smartphone rail ticketing system. Masabi is to provide iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps, back-end servers, payment integration and barcode validation software for onboard staff. A pilot will begin shortly, ...
-
NewsBuenos Aires commuter railway concession revoked
ARGENTINA: Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido announced on May 24 that Trenes de Buenos Aires would be stripped of its concession to operate the Sarmiento and Mitre commuter networks. The decision to revoke the concession by means of a presidential decree had been taken because of inadequate rolling ...
-
NewsDonetsk station rebuild completed
UKRAINE: National railway UZ officially completed an extensive modernisation of the main station in Donetsk on May 22. The project has been undertaken to increase capacity from 15 000 to more than 35 000 passengers/day, shorten walking distances, improve links to local transport and increase accessibility for users with ...
-
NewsExperimental 430 km/h high speed train unveiled
SOUTH KOREA: An experimental high speed train designed for speeds up to 430 km/h was unveiled on May 17. The HEMU-430X (High Speed Electric Multiple-Unit 430 km/h eXperimental) has been developed with the aim of putting South Korea's major cities within 1½ h of each other, and to attract ...
-
NewsRailCorp to be split in New South Wales passenger shake up
AUSTRALIA: 'The biggest shake up to the state's railways in a generation' was announced by New South Wales Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian on May 15. The 'Fixing the Trains' initiative will see RailCorp replaced by two new organisations over the next 12 to 18 months. Sydney Trains is to be ...
-
NewsProcurement of new Merseyrail trains begins
UK: Transport authority Merseytravel announced on May 14 that it had begun procurement of a new fleet of suburban electric multiple-units for the 750 V DC third rail Merseyrail network centred on Liverpool. Recruitment consultants have been asked to identify candidates for the post of Project Director. 'Getting the right ...
-
NewsPesa Link II diesel multiple-unit on test
CZECH REPUBLIC: Polish rolling stock builder Pesa Bydgoszcz has rolled out the first of 31 LINK II diesel multiple-units ordered by Czech national passenger operator CD. The prototype moved from Poland to the Velim test circuit on May 10 to undergo acceptance trials. The two-car partially low-floor articulated ...
-
NewsMoynihan station contract awarded
USA: On May 9 the Moynihan Station Development Corp subsidiary of Port Authority of New York & New Jersey ratified the award of a $147·7m contract to begin conversion of Manhattan’s Farley Post Office building to relieve congestion at the adjacent Penn Station. The award of the ...
-
NewsInter-city EMUs being commissioned for Euro 2012
UKRAINE: National railway UZ has started driver training and commissioning runs with three of the 10 HRCS2 inter-city electric multiple-units being supplied by Hyundai Rotem. The next unit is expected to arrive in mid-May, with the four scheduled to enter revenue service in time for the Euro ...
-
NewsQR plans ETCS Level 2 for Brisbane suburban network
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Rail requested expressions of interest on May 9 for the supply of European Train Control System Level 2 lineside and onboard equipment for its South East Queensland electrified suburban network. According to the tender documents, QR is seeking ‘to improve operational safety, improve the capacity ...
-
NewsTrains ordered for Tehran - Mashhad electrification project
IRAN: Wagon Pars has received a contract to design and manufacture 300 passenger vehicles for use on the Tehran - Mashhad route, which is now being electrified. The order covers seating, sleeping and dining cars suitable for speeds up to 200 km/h. Wagon Pars is also negotiating to produce electric ...
-
NewsGauge convertible sleeping car rolls out
RUSSIA: Siemens' Wien plant has completed the first of 200 sleeping cars which Russian Railways ordered in July 2009 for use on services to western Europe. Designed for 200 km/h and meeting RIC standards for use on the rail networks of UIC members, the cars will swap bogies at the ...
-
NewsHyundai Rotem signs Izmir suburban train contract
TURKEY: The IZBAN suburban rail joint venture of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and state railway TCDD has awarded Hyundai Rotem a YTL340m contract to supply 40 electric multiple-units to accommodate growing ridership in Turkey's third most populous city. The EMUs will be manufactured in Turkey by the Hyundai Eurotem joint venture ...
-
NewsNorth-South Railway on course to open in July
SAUDI ARABIA: The 2 400 km North-South Railway being developed by Saudi Railway Co is on course for a formal opening for mineral operations in July, with full operation scheduled for July 2013 and the start of passenger services in July 2014. Limited test trains have been running since ...
-
NewsSBB invests SFr40m in ticket vending machines
SWITZERLAND: Reflecting a growing trend towards automated retail, Swiss Federal Railways has ordered 1 000 ticket vending machines from German supplier Scheidt & Bachmann. Worth around SFr40m, the order will see the first machines installed at Swiss stations in September this year, with deliveries continuing for approximately ...
-
NewsPassenger information upgrade
TAIWAN: A replacement passenger information system has been fitted to 20 multiple-units used by Taiwan Railway Administration to provide a shuttle service on the Shalun branch which connects TRA's station on the conventional line in Tainan with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp's station. The information system uses LCD screens ...
-
NewsMetrorail fleet renewal begins
SOUTH AFRICA: Bid documents are now being made available by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa as it seeks to let two 10-year contracts for the design, manufacture and maintenance of electric multiple-units. PRASA expects to order an estimated 7 224 cars over the next 20 years ...