Passenger rail news – Page 217
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NewsČD closes Railjet deal
CZECH REPUBLIC: State-owned operator ČD finally signed a €200m deal with Austrian Federal Railways and Siemens Mobility on September 30 under which it will acquire 16 Viaggio Comfort (Railjet) push-pull trainsets using an option on ÖBB’s original contract with Siemens which was no longer required by the Austrians. Announced in ...
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NewsSkoda 109 E2 ready for trials
SLOVAKIA: This month Skoda Transportation will begin trials with the first of two Type 109 E2 three-voltage electric locomotives ordered by ZSSK for €4·8m. It is expected to enter regular service in December, with the second to follow in June 2012. The 6·4 MW Class 381 is derived from the ...
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NewsCeremony launches Tanger – Casablanca high speed project
MOROCCO: A foundation stone was laid in Tanger on September 29 to mark the start of construction of a high speed line to Casablanca. The ceremony was attended by King Mohammed VI and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reflecting the close relationship between the two countries which has underpinned the project ...
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NewsRegioJet launch brings inter-city competition
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access operator RegioJet launched services between Praha and Havírov on September 26, breaking Czech Railways' monopoly on long-distance passenger services by competing directly with CD's premium Pendolino service. RegioJet is initially running three trains each way per day, calling at nine intermediate stations including Ostrava-Hlavní, Olomouc and ...
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NewsCameroon orders Chinese coaches
CAMEROON: CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock has won a contract to supply 38 metre-gauge coaches including sleeping, dining and baggage cars to Cameroon. Announcing the deal on September 20, the manufacturer said it was its third passenger rolling stock order from Africa, after contracts to supply coaches to Guinea and ...
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NewsSt Gallen upgrade agreement signed
SWITZERLAND: A letter of intent to go ahead with the Durchmesserlinie Appenzell - St Gallen - Trogen project to upgrade and connect the Trogen and Appenzell railways in St Gallen was signed by operator Appenzeller Bahnen and three cantons on September 12. The metre-gauge lines are both operated by Appenzeller ...
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NewsQuick arrival in the Klang Valley
MALAYSIA: CSR Zhuzhou delivered the first of 38 six-car electric multiple-units to KTMB in September, having rolled it out just a year after the 4bn yuan order was signed in July 2010. Six are scheduled to arrive this year, entering traffic from January on KTM Komuter services in the ...
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NewsMadrid Barajas airport rail link opens
SPAIN: RENFE suburban services began running to a new station beneath Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas airport on September 23. An official opening ceremony had been performed the day before by Development Minister José Blanco, President of the Madrid regional government Esperanza Aguirre and Mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón. Trains ...
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NewsAlstom to supply trains for O-Train capacity expansion
CANADA: Operator OC Transpo has awarded Alstom Transport a C$34m contract to supply six Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units to increase capacity on the O-Train service in Ottawa. The 8 km line currently carries around 12 000 daily riders, double the initial target when the service was launched in 2001, and ...
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NewsClass 730 high speed electro-diesel trainset on test
SPAIN: During a test run on the high speed line between Ourense and A Coruña on September 20, Development Minister José Blanco announced that RENFE would introduce Class 730 gauge-changing electro-diesel trainsets on services between Madrid and the northwestern region of Galicia in mid-2012. The trainsets would enable Madrid - ...
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NewsPresidential opening for LGV Rhin-Rhône
FRANCE: President Nicolas Sarkozy inaugurated the first 140 km section of LGV Rhin-Rhône between Villiers-les-Pots and Petit-Croix on September 8, cutting a ribbon at the new TGV station outside Besançon to mark the formal opening of the high speed line. He then travelled to Belfort-Montbéliard TGV, where a rolling stock ...
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NewsSiemens and RZD sign €2·5bn EMU and maintenance contracts
RUSSIA: A €2bn contract for the Train Technologies joint venture of Siemens and Sinara to supply a further 1 200 Desiro RUS electric multiple-unit cars to Russian Railways in 2015-20 was signed on September 7. The contract was signed during Expo 1520 at Shcherbinka, and follows a preliminary agreement concluded ...
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NewsZagreb suburban EMU enters service
CROATIA: A prototype 25 kV 50 Hz suburban electric multiple-unit developed jointly by Koncar and TZV Gredelj entered service in Zagreb on September 5. The four-car articulated unit No 6112 101 has been developed as a prototype for the proposed replacement of Ganz Class 6111 EMUs which the HZ ...
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NewsElectro-diesel Talgo unveiled
SPAIN: Patentes Talgo is converting 15 RENFE Class 130 gauge-changing high speed trainsets to the Class 730 hybrid by replacing the end seating cars with two new trailers each housing an MTU 12V4000R43L engine and traction alternator. With a continuous rating of 3600 kW, the Class 730 has a top ...
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NewsHow to sell train tickets online
UK: Consumer body Passenger Focus has published a study into how passengers buy rail tickets online, making recommendations to improve the process. The report was commissioned from Outlook and follows a study of ticket vending machine interfaces. Passenger Focus says online purchasing is becoming the default choice for long-distance travel. ...
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NewsBy rail from Buenos Aires to Montevideo
SOUTH AMERICA: President Cristina Fernández of Argentina met her Uruguayan counterpart José Mujica in Salto on August 29, having travelled from Ayuí using the rail link between the two countries across the Salto Grande dam on the River Uruguay, briefly used by passenger trains between 1982 and 1985. The ceremony ...
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NewsAll change at Vigo
SPAIN: RENFE services began calling at a temporary station in Vigo in the northwestern region of Galicia on August 28, following the offical opening of the new facility by Development Minister José Blanco the day before. With three platforms 285 m, 165 m and 100 m long and a ...
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NewsSaudi Arabian train on test at Velim
SAUDI ARABIA: The first of eight fixed-formation diesel trainsets which Saudi Railways Organization ordered from CAF in July 2008 is now undergoing trials at the VUZ testing centre at Velim in the Czech Republic. The 180 km/h push-pull trainset is formed of five 26·8 m long passenger coaches and single-cab ...
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NewsSNCF takes Westbahn stake
AUSTRIA: On August 23 SNCF confirmed that it had bought a 26% stake in Rail Holding AG, the parent company of open access operator Westbahn Management GmbH. The purchase takes the form of an injection of share capital into Rail Holding, which becomes a three-way joint venture between SNCF ...
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NewsOpening of Ankara - Konya fast line completes strategic link
TURKEY: Passenger services on Turkey's second 250 km/h line began on August 24, the day after the Ankara - Konya route was inaugurated by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Built at a cost of YTL1bn, the north-south line completes a strategic link in the rail network. Taking the direct 306 ...