Passenger rail news – Page 32
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Rail Business UKSouth Western Railway operating contract extended
UK: The Department for Transport has exercised an option to extend South Western Railway’s National Rail Contract for a further two years. Directly-awarded NRCs are intended as an interim step between the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements which were put in place during the pandemic, and the ...
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In depthFrance: Start-ups energise the passenger market
Open access passenger operators have so far had limited success in penetrating the French market, but a medley of ambitious entrepreneurs is now tackling the task. Jérémie Anne reports.
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NewsRENFE to create French subsidiary
FRANCE: The board of Spain’s national operator RENFE is to seek Spanish government approval for the formation of a French subsidiary to take advantage of the ongoing liberalisation of that market. Announcing its plan to set up a French business on February 2, RENFE said it ...
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NewsDowner selected for Queensland rolling stock contract
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the selection of Downer as preferred bidder for a contract to supply 65 six-car trains for use in the southeast of the state as part of the Queensland Train Manufacturing Programme. The 1 067 mm gauge trains are to ...
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NewsFranco-Swiss TGV partnership extended for five more years
EUROPE: The TGV Lyria cross-border passenger train partnership of France’s SNCF Voyageurs (74%) and Switzerland’s SBB (26%) has been extended for a further five years. The co-operation dates back 30 years. There are 17 return trips per day across the Genève – Paris, Lausanne – Paris ...
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NewsCambodian railway regauging study completed
Train between Sisophon and Poipet CAMBODIA: A feasibility study for a further rebuild of the 382 km line from Phnom Penh to Poipet on the Thai border was submitted to the government on January 24. The study financed and undertaken by China Road & Bridge Corp ...
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NewsAmsterdam – Barcelona night train plan
EUROPE: Night train start-up European Sleeper has announced details of its proposed Amsterdam – Barcelona service, which has won the backing of the European Commission. The night train is one of 10 proposals selected for a pilot programme which aims to break down practical barriers to ...
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NewsPKP Intercity coaches delivered
POLAND: Poznań-based FPS H Cegielski has delivered the last of 81 coaches ordered by PKP Intercity. The 700m złoty order signed in February 2018 included seven first-class compartment cars, 27 second-class open and 27 second-class compartment cars, 10 second-class open cars with spaces for eight bicycles ...
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NewsHydrogen train to be demonstrated in Québec
CANADA: An Alstom Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel cell multiple-unit is to operate demonstration passenger services on the Chemin de fer de Charlevoix from June 17 to September 30. The return service along the St Lawrence River between Parc de la Chute-Montmorency on the outskirts of Québec ...
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NewsMore rolling stock needed to support passenger market growth, say European associations
EUROPE: The Association of European Rail Rolling Stock Lessors and the AllRail association of independent operators have met to discuss the provision of vehicles to facilitate the launch of new passenger services. Rolling stock availability has provided a stumbling block to ambitions to launch new open ...
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NewsEuropean Commission to support 10 cross-border inter-city pilot services
EUROPE: The European Commission has announced that it will support 10 pilot projects for new or improved cross-border passenger services. Proposals were invited from the rail industry following the publication of the Commission’s action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail services in December 2021. ...
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Metro Report InternationalReal-time train occupancy data smooths S-Bahn boarding
GERMANY: Passengers in Hamburg can now get real-time train occupancy data using technology developed by S-Bahn Hamburg in-house using an existing communication system supplied by PSI Transcom. Sensors scan passing trains to collect information on the occupancy of individual coaches, which is sent through the PSI ...
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NewsValparaíso – Santiago passenger revival planned
CHILE: Plans to reintroduce passenger services between Santiago and Valparaíso have been announced by President Gabriel Boric. The revival of the services which last ran in 1986 forms part of the government’s Trains for Chile investment programme. The president said the end-to-end journey time ...
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NewsHauts-de-France unveils Premium EMU
FRANCE: The first of 19 Omneo Premium double-deck inter-city electric multiple-units ordered by the Hauts-de-France région for the Paris – Amiens and Paris – Saint Quentin – Cambrai/Maubeuge ‘Picardie Y’ routes has been rolled out at Alstom’s Crespin plant.
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NewsBaltic States discuss Vilnius – Riga – Tallinn passenger service and gauge conversion
EUROPE: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are to explore options to launch a passenger service between their capitals using existing 1 520 mm gauge railways, ahead of the completion of the future Rail Baltica 1 435 mm gauge line. The lack of through services between the Baltic ...
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Metro Report InternationalPassenger trust, digital expectations and changing travel patterns will drive transport innovation in 2023
Making accurate predictions in an increasingly unpredictable world can be a fool’s errand, but Galen Chui, Senior Vice-President of Engineering & Products at Cubic Transportation Systems, looks at the trends that will shape public transport in the coming year.
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NewsRegional railways to be revitalised with 200-train framework agreements
POLAND: Regional passenger operator Polregio has signed framework agreements with four manufacturers for the supply of up to 200 electric multiple-units which are intended to offer a step-change in quality on routes serving smaller towns. The agreements signed on January 25 enable H Cegielski FPS, Pesa ...
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NewsNational Express selected for 10-year operating contracts
GERMANY: National Express Rail has been selected to operate passenger services RE1 Aachen – Hamm and RE11 Düsseldorf – Paderborn – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe for 10 years from the December 2023 timetable change. The €1bn contract tendered by Rhein-Ruhr transport authority VRR, go.Rheinland (formerly NVR), Westfalen-Lippe authority NWL ...
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In depthPortugal: National plan to boost rail’s market share
Ambitious plans to connect Portugal’s 10 largest cities by high speed rail form the centrepiece of a comprehensive railway development package unveiled by the Portuguese government late last year. To be completed by 2050, the plan also envisages new suburban corridors and a third bridge over the River Tagus. André Pires reports.
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NewsDB Regio awarded Rheine – Löhne operating contract
GERMANY: DB Regio has been selected to operate new regional express service RE62 Rheine – Osnabrück – Löhne for seven years from December 2023. The service running every 2 h is being commissioned by Neidersachsen transport authority LNVG and Westfalen-Lippe authority NWL to retain an hourly ...