Passenger rail news – Page 230
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NewsBlack Sea bullet plan
GEORGIA: President Mikheil Saakashvili outlined his vision for fast trains to cut the 360 km Tbilisi - Batumi journey from 8 h to less than 3 h on May 31. Opening a construction base in Batumi for the upgrading of GRZ's main line, he said modern transport and communications were ...
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NewsFyra launch delayed again
NETHERLANDS: A further year's delay to the launch of high speed domestic services on HSL-Zuid has been confirmed by Transport Minister Camiel Eurlings, who has admitted to the Dutch parliament that there is no prospect of the AnsaldoBreda V250 trainsets entering revenue service before the December 2011 timetable change at ...
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NewsRENFE unveils Class 112 high speed train
SPAIN: National operator RENFE unveiled the new Class 112 high speed train at its future home, the extended Santa Catalina rolling stock maintenance facility in Madrid, on June 29. A total of 30 Class 112s have been ordered from Talgo and Bombardier for the Madrid - Valencia high speed ...
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NewsSiemens Vectron locomotive on test
INTERNATIONAL: Fresh from its München assembly plant, a new Siemens multi-system electric locomotive targeted at European operators is being put through its paces at the Wegberg-Wildenrath test centre in Germany. Christened Vectron, the four-axle machine is destined to be one of Siemens' star exhibits at the InnoTrans 2010 event in ...
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NewsDB orders more double-deckers
GERMANY: Bombardier Transportation is to supply DB with a further 21 double-deck coaches for use in Sachsen-Anhalt from the end of 2010. The €34m contract announced on June 24 was placed under a 2003 framework agreement which covered 298 vehicles worth €411m with options for a further 300 (RG 8.03 ...
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NewsLowering the bar to London
EUROPE: On June 17 the European Commission cleared the transformation of Eurostar from a co-operative arrangement between SNCF, SNCB and London & Continental Railways into a stand-alone joint venture controlled by SNCF and LCR with SNCB holding a non-controlling stake. Approval was subject to conditions which are intended to lower ...
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NewsSkoda Class 380 in service
CZECH REPUBLIC: Skoda Transportation's Type 109E triple-voltage 200 km/h locomotives have begun trial operations, starting with No 380.007 which hauled a 100 km/h CD Cargo freight train from Plzen to Beroun on May 27. Initial 160 km/h passenger operations are expected to begin on routes from Praha to Brno and ...
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NewsService centre for private operators
GERMANY: A rolling stock maintenance centre is being developed at a former locomotive workshop at Braunschweig in Germany to meet the growing demand for servicing vehicles on behalf of private operators, which now carry around 20% of regional passenger traffic. Opening in 2011, the 15 200 m2 site will specialise ...
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NewsArriva shareholders back sale
UK: Shareholders of Sunderland-based international bus and rail operator Arriva voted overwhelmingly at a special General Meeting on June 17 to support the proposed takeover of the company by Deutsche Bahn. The Arriva board had recommended acceptance of DB's cash bid announced on April 22, under which the state-owned ...
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NewsKiel - Lübeck upgrade
GERMANY: DB Regio launched an enhanced service between Kiel and Lübeck on June 13, following a €32m programme of investment in the 81 km route which included infrastructure modernisation, more accessible platforms and a new station at Kiel-Elmschenhagen. The federal government provided two-thirds of the cost with the rest coming ...
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NewsTram-train on test at Crécy-la-Chapelle
FRANCE: A Siemens Avanto tram-train vehicle from the Bondy - Aulnay route T4 in Paris was tested by SNCF on the 10 km single-track Esbly - Crécy-la-Chapelle line east of the capital on June 2-4. The lack of a passing loop on the branch means it is not possible to ...
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NewsPesa reveals details of low-floor EMU family
POLAND: Bydgoszcz-based manufacturer Pesa has revealed its ELF low-floor EMU design ahead of the planned exhibition of a prototype at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin in September. Speaking at the Expo Ferroviaria event in Torino on June 9, a spokesman confirmed that two contracts had already been ...
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NewsAnsaldoBreda and Bombardier combine to offer V300 Zefiro
ITALY: Following Alstom's announcement of an addition to its high speed train range on June 8, Bombardier Transportation's Country President Italy, Roberto Tazzioli, has revealed further details of his company's response to Ferrovie dello Stato's tender for 50 very high speed trainsets. To boost the local content of the planned ...
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NewsAlstom extends high speed train family
ITALY: Alstom Transport revealed a further addition to its portfolio of high speed trains at the Expo Ferroviaria event in Torino on June 8. The design, which does not yet have a name, combines elements of all of the company’s existing products in the high speed sector, including the AGV ...
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NewsGautrain's World Cup kick-off
SOUTH AFRICA: The first phase of the Gautrain passenger railway opened between Sandton, Marlboro, Rhodesfield and OR Tambo International Airport on June 8, completion having been accelerated so it would be ready for the start of the FIFA World Cup on June 11. Inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremonies for invited ...
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NewsIn seach of lumbar support
SEATS: Recognising that passengers travelling on high speed trains are likely to remain in their seats for between 2 h and 4 h, Compin's research and development unit has been looking at ways to improve comfort by developing seats with an adjustable lumbar support. Noting that the spine lumbar region ...
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NewsZürich double-decker unveiled
SWITZERLAND: The first of 29 Stadler Rail double-deck electric multiple-units for Zürich S-Bahn services was unveiled at Zürich Hauptbahnhof on June 3. Participating in the handover ceremony were SBB Chief Executive Andreas Meyer, Economics Director of Zürich Canton Ernst Stocker and Stadler Rail CEO Peter Spuhler. The 160 ...
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NewsAlstom-TMH signs €1bn EP20 locomotive contract
RUSSIA: RZD placed an order for 200 EP20 dual-system electric locomotives for inter-city passenger services at the 1520 Strategic Partnership event in Sochi on May 27. The 3 kV DC/25 kV AC single unit locomotives will be the first products to emerge as a result of the alliance between Transmash ...
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News€4bn suburban spend in Valencia
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development and the Valencia regional government have unveiled a 2010-20 suburban infrastructure investment plan to which they are to contribute €34bn and €555m respectively. Major projects include a €750m cross-city link in Valencia running 6 km from the existing Nord terminus to join the route ...
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NewsDesiro EMUs to be built in Russia
RUSSIA: On May 27 Siemens, Aeroexpress and RZD signed a memorandum of understanding for the formation of a three -way joint venture to build and maintain Desiro regional electric multiple-units with asynchronous drives for the Russian market. Series production of the Desiro RUS will begin in 2014, with the proportion ...