Passenger rail news – Page 263
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News
Caribbean luxury on two decks
ST KITTS Scenic Railway has put into service five custom-built double-deck luxury coaches. Probably amongst the largest 762mm gauge vehicles ever built, the Island Series cars are 12m long, 2·4m wide and 5·3m high measured over the canvas canopies. Each coach weighs 22 tonnes, and has four-wheel fully-sprung bogies. The ...
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NewsRailbuses exploit Polish regional potential
HIGH operating costs and short, obsolete locomotive-hauled trains are features of many of the local and regional lines which form an important part of Poland's rail network. In an effort to reduce expenditure PKP announced plans to withdraw over 1000 services, but in March the threat of widespread strikes brought ...
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Three-system Pendolino emerges at last
Next month is due to see the roll-out of the first Class 680 tilting inter-city trainset for Czech Railways, after a decade of chequered progress which saw production switched from Praha to Savigliano. Chris Jackson spoke to Alstom Ferroviaria's Projects & Marketing Director Pier Prina Mello and Project Manager Federico ...
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Swedes test high speed on-board internet access
ON JANUARY 30, a Swedish high speed train will become the first in the world to offer passengers real-time internet access on the move. One Linx X2000 tilting trainset operating between Göteborg, Malmö and København has been fitted with a wireless communications network which can also support passenger information and ...
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Passenger Portfolio
Ticketing change in Germany GERMAN RAILWAY is now selling all long-distance tickets priced at €21 or more online, with credit card payment. The launch was timed to coincide with the introduction of market-priced fares on December 15 (RG 2.02 p98). Tickets are sent by post at no extra charge to ...
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Diesel light rail rolls at last in North America
A short route in Ottawa has pioneered diesel light rail operation in Canada, and New Jersey Transit is close behind with a 51·5 km line between Camden and Trenton. William D Middleton reports
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Lounge upgrade unveiled
EUROSTAR opened its refurbished first class lounge at London Waterloo International station (right) on June 20. Branded as Le Salon, refurbishment of the eight-year-old lounge was overseen by French designer Philippe Starck as part of the company's £35m 'Welcome to the new Eurostar' project. Starck said he based his 'unique ...
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‘There are no quick fixes or short-term solutions’
Last month we reported David Gunn’s warning on June 20 that Amtrak was ’near the point of no return’. His blunt speaking secured a $100m short-term federal loan that will keep the trains running until September, but the long term is another matter. Murray Hughes asked Gunn what lies ahead
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Köln - Frankfurt shuttles launch 300 km/h running
Ralf Roman Rossberg reports on service plans for German Railway's high speed line between Köln and Frankfurt
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NewsKuala Lumpur's airport in the city opens for business
The 57 km standard gauge rail link serving Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Malaysia’s new administrative capital opened last month. Andrew Grantham sampled the ride
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Korea launches domestically-built high speed train
THIS MONTH is due to see the start of test running with a domestically-built high speed train in South Korea. The Ministry of Construction & Transport announced on March 13 that South Korea had become the fourth nation in the world to build a trainset capable of running at over ...
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Sheremetyevo gets airport link
CONSTRUCTION work is due to get under way next year on a rail link to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, following the signing of an agreement in July between Russian Railways Minister Nikolai Aksyonenko, the Vice-Premier of the Moscow City Government Iosif Ordzhonokidze and Aeroflot Director-General Valery Okulov. The decision to connect ...
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Danish local concessions
SEPTEMBER 17 is the closing date for bids to operate regional passenger services in Jylland from the beginning of 2003. The Danish Transport Ministry has called international bids for two concessions totalling 582 route-km. Around 10 consortia have expressed interest, including German Railway's local passenger business DB Regio. Preferred bidders ...
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NewsTilt technology still evolving as the cost falls
With trains operational in more than a dozen countries and two more fleets about to enter service in Britain, the commercial case for tilt is firmly established. While there is still diversity of actuation techniques, the cost is falling and side effects such as nausea are being overcome
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NewsAcela Express heads Amtrak expansion drive
The initial success of Acela Express trains between Washington DC, New York and Boston is helping to swing US political opinion behind new legislation to fund investment in high-speed rail across the country
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Making the Virgin vision happen
The number of passengers using Virgin Trains' services has soared by 40% in three years, giving the company a head start in the race to meet ambitious commercial targets agreed with government. To succeed, Virgin Trains Chief Executive Chris Green must deliver top-of-the-range inter-city services with high speed tilting trains ...
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NewsAcelas to roll on Amtrak high
USA: This month is expected to see the start of Acela Express high-speed services between Boston, New York and Washington, almost a year later than planned. On August 30 Bombardier spokesman Gilles Pagé announced that the first trainset in full revenue service condition would be delivered at the end ...
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ICE3 pioneers commercial application of eddy-current rail brakes
The dream of frictionless braking has crept closer with the installation of eddy-current rail brakes on German Railway's ICE3, but they will only be used in carefully controlled conditions
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Pendolinos to serve Jerusalem
ISRAEL RAILWAYS' mothballed rail link to Jerusalem should be reopened within 18 months, following the approval in principle of an investment package by the government. The announcement followed a meeting on April 17 between IR General Manager Amos Uzani and Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who is currently responsible for transport. ...
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Corridor upgrade cuts transit times
Murray Hughes travelled in a PKP inspection saloon to view improvement works on the E20 corridor between Warszawa and Poznan