Passenger rail news – Page 235
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NewsBilbao rebuilding plan
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development has unveiled plans to rebuild Bilbao Abando station for high speed services, placing tracks underground in order to free up 85000 m2 of land for redevelopment in the city centre. There would be eight 1435 mm gauge tracks on the lowest level of the ...
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NewsObama names inter-city rail projects to share $8bn
USA: President Obama announced the high speed and inter-city rail projects which will share $8bn of federal funding during a visit to Tampa, Florida, on January 28. States and local communities were able to compete for the money which was announced in April 2009 as part of the American Recovery ...
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NewsFujian gets to work
CHINA: A 275 km railway paralleling the coast between Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province opened for freight traffic on December 31, and 200 km/h passenger services are expected to follow in April. The line has 18 stations and has been designed for speeds of up to 250 km/h. Fujian ...
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NewsVR keeps monopoly for now
FINLAND: The Ministry of Transport has signed an agreement giving state railway VR a 10-year monopoly on long-distance passenger services. Local trains are covered by a separate agreement which runs for one year, as liberalisation of this market has not been ruled out. The contracts followed a review of the ...
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NewsSiemens preferred bidder for ICx inter-city train deal
GERMANY: The high-profile ICx programme to renew DB's inter-city fleet took a decisive step forward on January 25, when DB Chairman Rüdige Grube announced the selection of Siemens as preferred bidder for a framework agreement. Detailed negotiations will now begin, with the aim of signing a firm contract this summer. ...
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NewsMÁV orders passenger Traxx
HUNGARY: On January 21 Bombardier Transportation announced an €80m order to supply MÁV with 25 Traxx P160AC electric locomotives for use on passenger trains within Hungary and on cross-border services to Austria and Germany. The national railway has an option for 25 more. The locomotives will be assembled at Bombardier's ...
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NewsSiemens to supply Desiro technology to China
CHINA: Siemens Mobility is to supply traction and control technology from its Desiro regional multiple-unit platform to rolling stock manufacturer CSR Nanjing Puzhen under a €450m long-term co-operation agreement announced on January 21. An initial suborder covers equipment for 32 six-car 25 kV inter-city electric multiple-units which Guangdong Southeast Intercity ...
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NewsLonger franchise allows Chiltern to compete
UK: On January 6 Chiltern Railways applied for Transport & Works Act legal powers for the second phase of its £250m Evergreen 3 expansion project, which will enable the operator to provide services between London Marylebone station and Oxford in competition with the First Great Western route from London Paddington ...
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NewsJerusalem fast link alignment agreed
ISRAEL: On January 17 the government approved the alignment for the final two sections of the A1 direct rail link to Jerusalem. Construction of some sections has been underway for several years, and the route is now expected to open at the end of 2016, although the transport ministry believes ...
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NewsSNCF orders next batch of Régiolis trains
FRANCE: SNCF has awarded Alstom Transport its first follow-on order for Coradia Polyvalent multiple-units under the framework agreement for up to 1 000 trainsets which the national railway signed in October on behalf of a consortium of regional authorities. The €130m order for a further 19 units was announced by ...
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NewsBrandenburg double-decker order signed
GERMANY: Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH has ordered 23 new trainsets from Stadler Pankow GmbH to operate regional services in Berlin-Brandenburg from the end of 2011. Including the first series build of double-deck EMUs for the German market, the €146m deal is described by Stadler as the largest order in the history ...
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NewsAGV begins Italian test programme
ITALY: Alstom's AGV demonstrator high speed trainset will begin a test programme in Italy on January 14, validating the Italian signalling and safety equipment required by launch customer NTV. The prototype AGV trainset is expected to cover more than 60 000 km by July, running initially on the Roma - ...
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NewsUS Center for High-Speed Rail launched
USA: The American Public Transportation Association has launched a Center for High-Speed Rail, aiming to 'advance and promote high-speed rail in the United States.' Announced on January 8, this will build on the work of APTA's existing High-Speed & Intercity Rail and Legislative committees. 'With the impending announcement by the ...
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NewsChina South is low bidder for European loco contract
POLAND: China South's Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co has been named as lowest bidder for a contract to supply Koleje Mazowieckie with 11 electric locomotives by December 2011. The Mazowsze regional passenger operator is seeking locomotives to power 160 km/h push -pull trainsets using 37 coaches supplied by Bombardier in 2008-09. ...
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NewsFirst Allegro train shipped to Finland
EUROPE: The first of four Alstom Pendolino tilting trainsets ordered for 'Allegro' services between Helsinki and St Petersburg is due to arrive in Finland this month, having been shipped from the Italian port of Vado Ligure on December 30. The 220 km/h Pendolinos are being built at Alstom's Savigliano plant. ...
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NewsWuhan – Guangzhou line opens at 380 km/h
CHINA: Revenue services on the Wuhan – Guangzhou passenger-dedicated line began running on December 26, cutting the journey time between the capitals of Hubei and Guangdong provinces to under 3 h, compared with 10 h 30 min via the 1 068 km conventional route. The inaugural trains left the new ...
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NewsSiemens signs Russian Olympic train order
RUSSIA: Russian Railways has awarded Siemens Mobility the contract to supply 160 km/h Desiro regional electric multiple-units for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. They will enter service on the Tuapse - Adler route from autumn 2013, and will be used to transport athletes and spectators to the ...
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NewsPlanning on the go
POLAND: Staff on Polish inter-city trains can now provide passengers with journey information using HaCon's Hafas Mobile Professional software installed on Casio IT-3100 devices by TK Telekom. Enquiries are entered using a keyboard or with a stylus on the touch-screen, enabling Polish characters to be entered into a fault-tolerant station ...
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NewsLNVG orders Lint DMUs
GERMANY: Alstom Transport announced a €75m order to supply Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG with a further 28 Coradia Lint diesel mul tiple-units on December 17. The two-car units are to be built at Salzgitter and will enter traffic on regional services in December 2011. They will have space for ...
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NewsTransitio orders more Contessas
SWEDEN: Rolling stock leasing company AB Transitio announced on December 23 that it had ordered a further 11 three-car Contessa EMUs from Bombardier Transportation at a cost of €96m, with an option for a further five. To be leased by three regional authorities, Lanstrafiken Kronoberg, Kalmar Lans Trafik and Hallandstrafiken, ...