Passenger rail news – Page 68
-
NewsČD buys Hohenzollernische Landesbahn RegioShuttle railcars
CZECH REPUBLIC: ČD has acquired 22 RegioShuttle RS1 railcars from HEROS Helvetic Rolling Stock at a cost of €15·5m. Built in 1997, the MAN-powered low-floor single-car DMUs were previously operated by Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs AG’s Hohenzollernische Landesbahn on Zollernalbbahn services 1 and 2, but have now been replaced ...
-
NewsTemporary rules to keep the Channel Tunnel open
EUROPE: The European Parliament has approved temporary measures designed to ensure that rail operations through the Channel Tunnel can continue once the Brexit transition period ends on January 1 2021. The European Parliament approved the temporary rules under an urgent procedure on December 17 with 684 votes ...
-
NewsIntegral DMUs extend S28 to Wuppertal
GERMANY: Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr has extended its Kaarst – Düsseldorf – Mettmann S-Bahn route S28 to Wuppertal Hbf with effect from the December 13 timetable change. The local service which previously terminated at Mettmann Stadtwald has been extended by around 7 km using a mix of reactivated tracks ...
-
NewsDirect award planned for hydrogen train services
GERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG and the city of Bremen have advance given notice of their intention to directly award a contract for the proposed operation of hydrogen fuel cell trains on service RB33 Cuxhaven – Bremerhaven – Bremervörde – Stade. The authorities said there is currently ...
-
NewsVästtrafik Zefiro Express EMU completed
SWEDEN: Bombardier Transportation has completed assembly of the first of 45 three-car Zefiro Express 200 km/h electric multiple-units ordered by Västra Götaland regional transport authority Västtrafik.
-
NewsČD’s RegioPanter fleet grows further
CZECH REPBLIC: National operator ČD has awarded a consortium of Škoda Transportation and Škoda Vagonka firm orders for 48 additional RegioPanter 3 kV DC/25 kV 50 Hz dual-voltage regional EMUs. The orders confirmed on December 11 comprise 19 two-car units with 140 seats, procured under a ...
-
NewsFinnish Rail and Turku One Hour Train companies formed
FINLAND: Companies have been established by the government and local authorities to plan two major rail projects. Suomi-rata Oy, or Finnish Rail, will develop plans for new alignments and additional tracks needed to provide a 1 h journey time on the main corridor between Helsinki and Tampere, ...
-
NewsRail to play a key role in EU strategy for ‘green, smart and affordable’ mobility
EUROPE: A trebling of high speed rail travel and doubling of rail freight’s market share are two of the priorities outlined in the European Commission’s Sustainable & Smart Mobility Strategy, which was unveiled in Brussels by Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean on December ...
-
NewsNight train strategy should include open access operators, says RegioJet
VIEWPOINT: The vision for an expansion of night train services presented by state railways DB, SBB, ÖBB and SNCF should be expanded to include other operators, says Aleš Ondrůj, Director of Communications & Sales at open access operator RegioJet.
-
NewsFour operators to co-operate to expand night train services
EUROPE: The national rail operators of Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland have agreed to co-operate on the expansion of international night train services, suggesting that there is now a political willingness to provide the framework required for long term success. ‘Europe’s leading railways are pooling their forces ...
-
NewsStuttgart S-Bahn EMU refurbishment contract awarded
GERMANY: DB Regio has selected Bombardier Transportation to help modernise its fleet of 157 ET 423 and ET 430 electric multiple-units used on Stuttgart S-Bahn services over the past two decades. Operating up to 23 million train-km per year, the fleet carries around 400 000 passengers/day. The ...
-
NewsTrenitalia acquires full ownership of Netinera Deutschland
EUROPE: Italian state operator Trenitalia has acquired sole control of German regional passenger and freight operator Netinera Deutschland though the €118m purchase of the 49% stake held by Luxembourg-based infrastucture investor Cube Transport.
-
NewsRENFE-as-a-Service aims to attract new passengers
SPAIN: Tendering is to begin soon for the development of national train operator RENFE Operadora’s planned ‘RENFE-as-a-Service’ digital platform for planning and purchasing multimodal door-to-door journeys. Expected to launch by the end of 2021, RaaS would integrate modes of transport including train, bicycle, metro, bus, car sharing ...
-
NewsMetrolink operating contract awarded
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak has beaten four other bidders to win the next contract to operate Southern California Regional Rail Authority’s Metrolink commuter services. Serving the greater Los Angeles region, Metrolink is the USA’s third largest commuter rail network, totalling 650 route-km. Before the pandemic it ...
-
NewsGardner named Amtrak President in leadership restructuring
USA: Stephen Gardner has been appointed President of Amtrak with effect from December 1, reporting to the national passenger operator’s CEO Bill Flynn.
-
NewsAalborg airport rail link ready to open
DENMARK: The rail link to Aalborg Lufthavn will open with the timetable change on December 13, infrastructure manager Banedanmark has confirmed.
-
NewsTMH International to maintain Go-Ahead’s Bayern multiple-units
GERMANY: Go-Ahead Deutschland has selected the TMH International subsidiary of Transmashholding to maintain two fleets of electric multiple-units that it will operate in southern Bayern and Baden-Württemberg from December 2021.
-
NewsLeo Express mulls expansion in Germany and multi-system CRRC trainsets
EUROPE: With its first Chinese-built Sirius trainsets moving on to a further phase of testing before entering revenue service next year, Czech open access operator Leo Express is now looking at ordering a multi-system variant capable of operating more widely across Europe.
-
In depthPassenger rolling stock: Rail can rise to clean air challenge
Policymakers need to support investment in this field to reap wider social, economic and public health benefits even after the Covid-19 crisis subsides, argues Dr Peter Radina of Knorr-Bremse.
-
NewsSt Petersburg – Kaliningrad passenger service proposed
EUROPE: The possibility of launching a passenger service linking St Petersburg with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on a route running via Latvia has been discussed by national railways RZD and Latvijas Dzelzceļš. ‘Over the past year, Latvijas Dzelzceļš has been paying a lot of attention to ...