Passenger rail news – Page 225
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NewsRhB orders Albula line trainsets
SWITZERLAND: Rhätische Bahn has signed a SFr110m contract with Stadler for the supply of seven new-generation trainsets to operate principal services on the Albula main line between Chur and St Moritz. The deal forms the third stage in RhB’s rolling stock renewal programme, bringing the total order value to SFr310m. ...
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NewsGrant reallocations double California’s high speed pilot section
USA: The planned initial segment of California’s proposed high-speed rail network was almost doubled in length on December 20, thanks to the reallocation of federal funding promised for right-of-way upgrading schemes in Wisconsin and Ohio. Following the rejection of those projects by the two states’ newly-elected governors, the Department of ...
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NewsDB awards ETCS on-board contract
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded a €60m contract to Alstom for the supply and installation of on-board ETCS equipment for 121 high speed trainsets to be used on both international and domestic services. The order covers 71 ICE-T tilting trainsets and 50 ICE3 sets. Alstom will supply its Atlas on-board ...
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NewsScottish cities reconnected
UK: A fourth direct route between Edinburgh and Glasgow came into operation on December 12, following the completion of a £300m project to reconnect the Glasgow – Airdrie and Edinburgh – Bathgate branch lines. The work re-establishes a through route which had been truncated for passengers in 1956 and closed ...
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NewsRoyal opening for Madrid – Valencia
SPAIN: The Madrid to Cuenca and Albacete section of the high speed line to Valencia was formally inaugurated by the Prince of Asturias and his consort on December 15. The section from Cuenca to Valencia will follow on December 18. The completion of a further 438 km of high speed ...
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NewsInter-city funding convention signed
FRANCE: A convention providing government support for residual and loss-making inter-city services on the conventional network was signed in Paris by Transport Minister Thierry Mariani and SNCF President Guillaume Pepy on December 13. Designated Trains d'Equibre du Territoire, the initiative forms part of a government commitment to support balanced national ...
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NewsAllegro launch cuts Helsinki - St Petersburg journey times
EUROPE: Helsinki - St Petersburg passenger services were relaunched with the December 12 timetable change, with journey times cut by 2 h to 3½ h following the introduction of Alstom dual-voltage New Pendolino tilting trainsets, infrastructure upgrades to permit running at 220 km/h in Finland and 200 km/h in Russia, ...
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NewsONCF orders 14 Duplex high speed trains
MOROCCO: Alstom Transport is to supply national railway ONCF with 14 Duplex high speed trainsets for Tanger – Casablanca services under a contract worth ‘nearly €400m’.The contract, signed in Tanger on December 10, foreshadows the opening of Morocco’s first high speed line between Tanger and Kénitra in December 2015. ...
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NewsHammond puts reform back on the agenda
UK: Efficiency savings worth between £600m and £1bn are achievable by 2018-19 without reducing service quality or network size, according to an interim report examining the cost of operating and maintaining Britain’s railways. Its author, Sir Roy McNulty, is expected to submit his completed Value for Money Review to government ...
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NewsFS and Cube Infrastructure selected to buy Arriva Deutschland
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn's supervisory board formally selected a consortium of Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato and investment fund Cube Infrastructure to acquire Arriva's German activities on December 8. The price offered was a decisive factor, according to DB Chairman Dr Rüdiger Grube, but is not being disclosed. Completion ...
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NewsOpening of Shin-Aomori extension completes Tohoku Shinkansen
JAPAN: JR East launched revenue services on the final phase of the Tohoku Shinkansen on December 4. The 81·8 km extension runs from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori in mountainous northern Honshu, and includes the 26·5 km Hakkoda tunnel, the longest land bore on the Japanese rail network. The line features ...
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NewsKing opens Citytunnel
SWEDEN: The Citytunnel in Malmö was officially opened by King Carl XVI Gustaf on December 4, with preview services starting the next day ahead of the full launch with the December 12 timetable change. The Citytunnel project has provided a 14 km double-track electrified direct route from new low-level platforms ...
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NewsChina hits 486 km/h in high speed trials
CHINA: A new Chinese record speed of 486 km/h was established on December 3 during trial running on a section of the Beijing – Shanghai high speed line between Zaozhuang in Shandong province and Bengbu in Anhui. Xinhua News Agency claimed that this is the fastest speed recorded by an ...
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NewsInfrastructure plan
GHANA: A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Chinese government which could see extensive investment in rehabilitation and extension of the rail network as part of a two-year package of infrastructure works. Modernisation of the Western rail line from Takoradi is set to begin early in 2011. President ...
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NewsHaut-Bugey line inaugurated
EUROPE: French Secretary of State for Transport Thierry Mariani and RFF President Hubert du Mesnil travelled on a special TGV service from Paris Bercy to Genève Cornavin on November 30 to mark the completion of work to rebuild the Haut-Bugey line between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde. Reconstruction of the 47 km ...
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NewsCalifornia picks first high speed section
USA: California High Speed Rail Authority has selected the first section of its planned high speed network to be built, although the choice immediately drew criticism as ‘a line to nowhere’. The initial section will run for approximately 105 km through a rural part of the San Joaquin Valley from ...
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NewsUS high speed plans in the balance
ANALYSIS Some US high speed plans are likely to go ahead despite the changing political landscape following the mid-term elections, but others are set to be abandoned, reports Julian Wolinsky.
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NewsRFF plans Roissy – Picardie link
FRANCE: Following an initial public debate earlier this year, the RFF board voted on November 25 to launch formal studies and public consultation for the development of a rail link running northwest from Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport to serve the Picardie region. The infrastructure manager hopes to be able to apply ...
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NewsAirport link opens
JAPAN: Private railway operator Keikyu and Tokyo Monorail opened stations serving the new international terminal at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on October 21. Both rail operators provide connections to city centre stations in around 13 min. The terminal has been built for the return of international flights to Haneda, 32 years ...