Passenger rail news – Page 223
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NewsMetrolinx orders more Bombardier BiLevels
CANADA: Bombardier Transportation announced a C$125m order to supply Greater Toronto transport authority Metrolinx with 50 BiLevel coaches on March 14. They are to be built at Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant for delivery to Metrolinx subsidiary GO Transit from November 2011, bringing the operator's double-deck fleet to 565 vehicles. ...
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NewsCD orders Skoda regional EMUs
CZECH REPUBLIC: Skoda Vagonka has been awarded two contracts to supply Czech Railways with a new generation of single-deck electric multiple-units for regional services around Ústí nad Labem, Pardubice and Hradec Králové. The contracts placed on February 16 cover 15 three-car EMUs costing a total of KC2·1bn and four two-car ...
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NewsLachine maintenance centre to go ahead in Montréal
CANADA: Financing of up to C$119m has been approved for a new commuter rail rolling stock maintenance centre to be built by Agence Métropolitaine de Transport at Lachine, near Lucien-L’Allier station in Montréal (MR 9.10 p22). Calls for proposals will be issued later this year. Construction is due to start ...
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NewsFlirts ordered for E-Netz Rosenheim
GERMANY: Stadler Pankow announced its largest ever rolling stock contract on March 7, a €200m order to supply Veolia Verkehr with 35 Flirt electric multiple-units for the E-Netz Rosenheim network in Bayern. The seven three-car and 28 six-car 160 km/h units will enter service from December 2013, operating on regional ...
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NewsPassenger operating contract winners named
GERMANY: A 10-year contract to operate Weser-/Lammetalbahn passenger services was awarded to NordWestBahn by the Westfalen-Lippe and Niedersachsen transport authorities on February 3. NWB will take over from Keolis with the December timetable change, operating around 1·35 million train-km a year using 11 Lint 41 DMUs owned by Land transport ...
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NewsCommuter spin off
RUSSIA: RZD's ongoing structural reform programme will see its suburban passenger activities spun off into separate businesses this year, along with the end of cross-subsidy from freight. By the end the year RZD will have 27 commuter rail subsidiaries including Moscow airport train operator Aeroexpress, up from 22 ...
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NewsJR Central inaugurates Nagoya museum
JAPAN: JR Central Chief Executive Yoshiomi Yamada officially inaugurated the company’s new railway museum at Kinjo-futo in Nagoya on March 1. Constructed over the past two years, the SC Maglev & Railway Park is due to be opened to the public on March 14. The museum brings together 39 items ...
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NewsGreat Western electrification and IEP approved
UK: Speaking in the House of Commons on March 1, Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond announced the go-ahead for the second stage of the Great Western Main Line electrification, which will extend the 25 kV 50 Hz electrification from Didcot to Bristol and through the Severn Tunnel to ...
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NewsHS2 consultation launched
UK: The government launched a public consultation process for construction of the proposed London – West Midlands high speed line on February 28. The consultation, which runs until July 29, will take the form of a series of public meetings and events along the planned 190 km route that is ...
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NewsIndian Railways faces testing times, says minister
INDIA: Presenting the Indian Railways budget for 2011-12 to Parliament on February 25, Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee warned that IR was facing a ‘testing time’, citing a significant jump in fuel costs, and wage increases imposed following a review by the Pay Commission. With 1·4 million employees and 1·2 ...
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NewsDB completes Arriva Deutschland sale
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn announced on February 28 that it had successfully completed the sale of the Arriva Deutschland Group to a consortium led by Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato in partnership with Cube Infrastructure. Details of the purchase agreement are being kept confidential. DB had committed to dispose of Arriva’s German ...
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NewsZSSK signs long-term train operating contract
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK and the Ministry of Transport have signed the first long-term contract for the provision of subsidised services, replacing a three-year contract covering 2008-10. The 10-year contract guarantees a fixed annual subsidy, which should help to stabilise ZSSK which made an operating loss of €78m ...
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NewsAmtrak selects Nomad for on-train wi-fi programme
USA: Amtrak has selected Nomad Digital technology for the expansion of its AmtrakConnect passenger wi-fi service. Nomad supported the initial launch on Acela Express last year, and on Cascades trains in the Pacific Northwest during January. Amtrak's Ivy City and Penn Coach Yard workshops will install wi-fi equipment in more ...
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NewsDelhi Airport Express rail link opens
INDIA: The Airport Express linking Indira Gandhi International Airport with New Delhi station opened to passengers on February 23. The stations at New Delhi, Shivaji Stadium, IGI Airport and Dwarka Sector 21 are now open, with intermediate stops at Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity to follow later this year. Trains ...
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NewsTwo standard gauge main lines recommended
THAILAND: Government officials in Bangkok are expected to recommend that the Chinese-backed programme to build a network of standard gauge main lines across the country be initially restricted to two routes. The two lines promoted by the Working Committee preparing the Memorandum of Understanding would link the ...
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NewsSEPTA smart card funding
USA: Unable to obtain federal or state grants towards a new smart card fare collection system, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transport Authority plans to borrow $175m to pay for the equipment. SEPTA has prequalified three suppliers - ACS Transport Solutions, Scheidt & Bachmann and Cubic Transportation Systems - and hopes ...
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NewsLyria enhancements agreed
EUROPE: SNCF President Guillaume Pepy and SBB Chief Executive Officer Andreas Meyer signed an agreement on February 16 to step up the frequency and quality of services between France and Switzerland operated by TGV Lyria. The jointly-owned subsidiary will be allocated a fleet of 19 dedicated TGV POS trainsets, ...
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NewsGovernor halts Orlando - Tampa high speed rail project
USA: Florida’s recently-elected Republican Governor Rick Scott announced on February 16 that he had decided to reject any federal funding for the proposed 135 km high speed line between Tampa and Orlando, as the start of a state-wide high speed network. This effectively stops the project, which had been widely ...
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NewsHaramain High Speed Rail station construction contracts signed
SAUDI ARABIA: Contracts have been signed for construction of four of the five stations for the Haramain High Speed Rail project, Saudi Railways Organization announced on February 16. The contracts form Package 2 of Phase 1 of the HHR project. Saudi Bin Laden Group is to build the stations at ...
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NewsSix-year US high speed rail programme proposed
USA: Vice-President Joseph Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled an ambitious $53bn six-year high speed and inter-city passenger rail programme on February 8. Biden said that clarifying the role of federal funding would provide states and cities with the certainty needed to make long-term plans, however the proposal ...