Passenger rail news – Page 58
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NewsKazakh-built passenger locomotive commissioned
KAZAKHSTAN: National railway KTZ has commissioned the first Alstom Prima M4 KZ4AT electric passenger locomotive to be assembled locally rather than imported from France. KTZ has ordered a total of 302 Prima T8 KZ8A freight locomotives and 119 Prima M4 KZ4AT passenger locomotives since 2010. The ...
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Rail Business UKStaycation Express returns for 2021 season
UK: Following last year’s successful launch the Staycation Express has returned for 2021 with a six days a week service on the Settle – Carlisle line from July 19 to September 9. This year the rolling stock is a dedicated 2+5 HST set which features all first ...
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NewsCalgary – Banff passenger train project enters development phase
CANADA: A detailed memorandum of understanding to accelerate the development of a proposed 150 km passenger line linking Calgary Airport with Banff National Park has been signed by Alberta’s Ministry of Transportation, Invest Alberta and Canada Infrastructure Bank. Project feasibility studies have been completed since an ...
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News$117bn Northeast Corridor route modernisation plan unveiled
USA: A vision for modernising the 735 km main line linking Washington DC with Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York was outlined by the Northeast Corridor Commission on July 14.
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NewsIndigenous owned and operated railway to be modernised
CANADA: A financing package for the modernisation of Canada’s first Indigenous owned and operated railway has been announced by Tshiuetin Rail Transportation, Canada Infrastructure Bank, Transport Canada and the government of Québec. Tshiuetin (‘North Wind’) has owned and operated the 217 km line from Emeril Junction ...
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Rail Business UKGo-Ahead commits to net zero
Announcing a ‘wholesale shift’ from diesel to zero-carbon modes including electric and hydrogen traction, Go-Ahead says it is aiming to achieve a fully decarbonised rail fleet by 2035, and to switch its 5 000-strong UK bus fleet to zero emission vehicles.
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NewsRegional passenger trial extended by a year
GERMANY: Bayern railway agency BEG has awarded Die Länderbahn a contract to continue operating a trial passenger service on the Gotteszell – Viechtach line. Regular passenger services on the 24·8 km route ended in 1991. BEG and Die Länderbahn agreed to reintroduce a trial service from ...
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NewsGrand Est cross-border fleet unveiled
FRANCE: The first of 30 electro-diesel trainsets for cross-border services between the French region of Grand Est and the German Länder of Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland was demonstrated to local politicians and officials in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse on July 10. An identical trainset is meanwhile ...
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NewsFreight operators concerned by ‘misguided’ competition Executive Order
USA: Freight railroads have expressed concern about the implications of an Executive Order issued by President Biden on July 9 aimed at ‘promoting competition in the American economy’. The order calls on regulatory bodies to facilitate ‘robust’ competition and reduce monopoly power in various sectors ranging from ...
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NewsToronto – Québec High Frequency Rail procurement to get underway this year
CANADA: The government has announced the start of procurement for the High Frequency Rail programme to build dedicated tracks for 200 km/h electric passenger trains on the Corridor route linking Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec. On July 6 Transport Canada said the process to select a ...
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NewsBattery-hybrid Venture trains in $3·4bn Amtrak inter-city fleet renewal order
USA: Amtrak has awarded Siemens Mobility contracts to supply 73 trainsets including electro-diesel and diesel-battery hybrid vehicles to operate medium-distance inter-city routes. ‘These new trains will reshape the future of rail travel by replacing our ageing 40 to 50 year old fleet with state-of-the-art, American-made equipment’, ...
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NewsMEPs urge faster ERTMS rollout
EUROPE: The European Parliament has called for expedited deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System in order to reduce the ‘fragmentation’ of the European rail sector and achieve the EU’s climate and digital transition objectives.
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NewsILSA trains take shape as Spain’s high speed competition hots up
SPAIN: The first of 23 ETR1000 trainsets being built for future high speed operator Intermodalidad de Levante are nearing completion at Hitachi Rail Europe’s Pistoia factory in Italy.
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NewsLhasa – Nyingchi line inaugurated
CHINA: The first electrified railway in Tibet was inaugurated on June 25, with ceremonies in Lhasa to mark the start of operations on the Lhasa – Nyingchi section of the Sichuan - Tibet railway. Diverging at Xierong from the Lhasa – Xigatse line opened ...
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NewsBattery trains and more frequent services specified in Brandenburg operating contract
GERMANY: The use of battery trains on non-electrified routes and a 30% increase in services are included in the next Netz Ostbrandenburg operating contract, which Berlin-Brandenburg transport authority VBB has awarded to incumbent Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn following a competitive tendering process. A total ...
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NewsErzgebirge operating contract extended
GERMANY: Having received no expressions of interest from other potential operators, central Sachsen transport authority VMS has directly awarded DB Regio’s Erzgebirgsbahn an extension to its contract to operate Dieselnetz Erzgebirge passenger services. The contract runs for 36 months from June 13, and covers three services ...
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In depthPassenger Rolling Stock: Getting ready for Wi-Fi 6E
Measures to expand the available spectrum for free-to-air wi-fi present an opportunity for railways to improve onboard connectivity, but will require the adoption of forward-compatible components.
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NewsRail reopenings to support climate-friendly transport
GERMANY: Infrastructure manager DB Netz has identified 20 lines totalling 245 route-km which it intends to reactivate for both freight and passenger services by 2030 as part of an initiative to provide environmentally friendly transport alternatives.
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NewsSlovakian forest railway takes delivery of Swiss railcars
SLOVAKIA: As part of ambitious plans to provide year-round passenger services on a 760 mm gauge former forestry railway, non-profit heritage organisation Čiernohronská Železnica has taken delivery of a fleet of electric railcars formerly used on Switzerland’s Waldenburgerbahn. The Čierny Hron valley revitalisation project, which has ...
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NewsUkrainian Railways orders 100 sleeping cars
UKRAINE: National railway Ukrzaliznytsia has awarded KVSZ a contract to supply 100 sleeping cars. The order includes 51 coaches with four-berth compartments, 12 with two-berth compartments and 37 with facilities for passengers with reduced mobility, including 17 with a train manager’s compartment. All are due to ...