Passenger rail news – Page 50
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NewsPolish operators call for track access charge cut to stem loss of market share
POLAND: The ZNPK federation of independent train operators has called for a ‘serious debate’ on access charges and a ‘radical’ 50% cut in fees, saying infrastructure manager PKP PLK’s current charges for freight trains are amongst the highest in Europe. ZNPK says that PKP PLK’s draft ...
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NewsOberweißbacher Bergbahn operating contract awarded
GERMANY: Thüringen’s Ministry of Infrastructure & Agriculture has directly awarded incumbent DB RegioNetz Verkehrs a contract to continue operating the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn funicular and electric train services for a further 10 years. A market survey determined that it would be impractical to hold a competitive tender ...
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NewsBattery trains on the Baltic coast
GERMANY: Having been named the winner of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Warnow II passenger train operating contract, DB Regio Nordost has ordered Stadler Flirt Akku battery-electric multiple-units to replace diesel multiple-units on two of the routes. The Land announced the award of the Warnow II contract to the incumbent ...
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NewsJR West to order tilting EMUs
JAPAN: West Japan Railway plans to order four 11-car Series 273 electric multiple-units to replace the Series 381 trainsets used on Yakumo Limited Express services on the Hakubi line.
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NewsRack trainsets enter revenue service
SLOVAKIA: Five rack-and-adhesion trainsets built by Stadler for ŽSSK’s metre gauge rack railway between Štrba and Štrbské Pleso were formally launched into revenue service on February 16. The event was attended by Boris Kollár, Speaker of the National Council, Slovak Minister of Transport & Construction Andrej ...
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NewsTimetable improvements in Frankfurt – Fulda contract
GERMANY: Following a competitive tender, Rhein-Main and Nordhessen transport authorities RMV and NVV have awarded incumbent DB Regio the next contract to operate Kinzigtal services RE50 Frankfurt – Wächtersbach – Fulda – Bebra and RB51 Frankfurt – Wächtersbach from December 14 2025. Planned changes to long-distance ...
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NewsStart selects Stadler to supply cross-border EMU fleet
EUROPE: Regionalverkehr Start Deutschland has awarded Stadler a contract to supply 20 Flirt3XL electric multiple-units for use on Maas-Wupper-Express service RE13 between Germany and the Netherlands.
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Rail Business UKTechnology replaces hand signals at Scottish request stops
UK: Eight lightly-used stations on the Far North line in Scotland are being provided with ‘request to stop’ kiosks, removing the need for waiting passengers to give hand signals to the driver of an approaching train. The kiosks supplied by Unipart Technologies Group’s Comms Design will ...
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NewsHeidekrautbahn hydrogen trains ordered
GERMANY: Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply and support six hydrogen fuel cell-powered multiple-units for use on Heidekrautbahn service RB27 to the north of Berlin. Delivery is scheduled by the end of September 2024, for operation from the December 2024 timetable change. ...
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NewsBulgarian train operations reintegrated
BULGARIA: The state rail operations holding company BDZ Holding and its passenger BDZ Ptnicheski Prevozi passenger and BDZ Tovarni Prevozi freight businesses have been reunited as one organisation, Minister of Transport & Communications Nikolay Sabev announced on February 4.
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NewsMore electro-diesel trainsets ordered
POLAND: Zachodniopomorskie voivodship has placed a 100m złoty order for a further five Newag Impuls 2 36WEh electro-diesel multiple-units for use on partially electrified routes. The additional sets have been ordered using an option in an August 2020 contract which covered an initial two units worth ...
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NewsCommuter rail operations and maintenance to be brought in-house
USA: Having opted to bring the operation and maintenance of its Sprinter and Coaster commuter rail services in-house from June 26, San Diego’s North County Transit District has awarded Siemens Mobility a Technical Support & Spares Supply Agreement covering its Desiro diesel multiple-units. The deal announced ...
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In depthInterview: Turning Budapest into a European rail hub
A 20-year strategy for expanding Budapest’s regional and long-distance rail connections envisages the construction of new and upgraded cross-city links to alleviate the bottlenecks caused by the River Danube and the capital’s three termini, explains Budapest Development Agency CEO Dávid Vitézy.
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NewsSão Paulo inter-city tender delayed
BRAZIL: The government of São Paulo state has postponed the tender for a 30-year concession to operate an inter-city passenger service between São Paulo and Campinas. The state’s Transport Secretariat had been planning to publish the tender in December 2021, but it said that a delay ...
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NewsCzech passenger rail lobbying group targets bigger market share
CZECH REPUBLIC: Four passenger operators have established lobbying group SVOD Bohemia to jointly promote passenger rail transport against other modes. The group is modelled on the rail freight lobbying group Žesnad which was established in 2016. SVOD Bohemia has set a target of increasing rail’s share ...
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NewsAmtrak to order more long-distance Chargers
USA: Amtrak’s board of directors has approved the purchase of further Siemens Charger diesel locomotives, Vice-President & Chief Mechanical Officer George Hull announced on February 8.
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NewsWesel – Bocholt line electrified
GERMANY: Electric operation of Rhein-IJssel-Express service RE19 on the 20·3 km Bocholter Bahn in Nordrhein-Westfalen began on February 1, following a seven month programme to modernise and electrify the branch from Wesel to Bocholt. The trains are operated by VIAS Rail, with Bocholt services now running ...
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NewsGo-Ahead Group joins AllRail
EUROPE: Train and bus operator Go-Ahead Group has joined the AllRail alliance of new entrants to the European rail market. UK-based Go-Ahead operates rail and bus services in its home market, and since 2015 has been targeting international expansion with rail contracts in Germany and Norway ...
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NewsWork starts on Perth’s Ellenbrook interchange
AUSTRALIA: Work has started on the terminus of Perth’s northeastern suburban line, with a groundbreaking ceremony for the rail-bus interchange at Ellenbrook attended by Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti. Being built as part of the state’s Metronet ...
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NewsIP calls tenders to restore narrow-gauge missing link
PORTUGAL: Rail and road network manager Infraestruturas de Portugal has called tenders for the renovation and reopening of the central section of the 1 000 mm gauge Vouga line between Oliveira de Azemeis and Sernada do Vouga.