Passenger rail news – Page 70
-
NewsMireo Smart to speed EMU deliveries
GERMANY: Siemens Mobility has announced plans to offer a standardised version of its Mireo articulated multiple-unit family, in a bid to reduce costs and shorten delivery times.
-
NewsAmtrak quick to welcome Biden win
USA: National passenger rail corporation Amtrak was one of the first organisations to welcome the news on November 7 that Joe Biden had won the US presidential election.
-
In depthRolling stock: Olympic deadline governs TGV M rollout
The first of 100 next-generation TGV sets is due to enter service with French national operator SNCF in time to carry passengers during the 2024 Olympic Games. Murray Hughes investigates.
-
NewsBrightline West construction delayed as bond sale fails
USA: Construction of the privately-funded Brightline West passenger line between Southern California and Las Vegas in Nevada has been delayed indefinitely after a $2·4bn bond offering failed to attract buyers. It had been hoped that construction of the electrified line designed for 200 km/h operation could start ...
-
NewsBoard appointed at ‘too big to fail’ Prasa
SOUTH AFRICA: The government has appointed a permanent management board for national operator Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa for the first time since 2017.
-
NewsDesiro HC EMUs en route to Tel Aviv
ISRAEL: The first two of 24 partly double-deck electric multiple-units being built for Israel Railways by Siemens Mobility have been shipped from Hamburg and are due to arrive in Israel towards the end of November.
-
NewsErmstalbahn modernisation programme gets underway
GERMANY: Erms-Neckar-Bahn AG has begun work to modernise and electrify the 10 km Ermstalbahn between Metzingen and Bad Urach in Baden-Württemberg. This forms part of the Regionalstadtbahn Neckar-Alb programme to develop a Karlsruhe-style tram-train network.
-
Rail Business UKHull Trains and Grand Central to suspend services again
UK: Open access operators Hull Trains and Grand Central are to suspend services again as England enters a second period of coronavirus lockdown running for four weeks from November 5. The open access companies operate on a purely commercial basis, and were not entitled to the government ...
-
NewsPrasa formally opens Western Cape control complex
SOUTH AFRICA: Prasa has formally inaugurated its R2∙8bn Rail Management & Train Control Centre at Bellevue in Cape Town, as part of its programme to modernise its signalling and infrastructure, including adoption of ETCS tailored to local conditions.
-
NewsEuropean Commission says České Dráhy may have engaged in predatory pricing
CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Commission has reached a preliminary view that incumbent state passenger operator České Dráhy may have engaged in predatory pricing in breach of EU rules on the Praha – Ostrava route in 2011-19.
-
NewsElron selects Škoda to supply EMUs for Tallinn – Tartu route
ESTONIA: Passenger operator Elron has selected Škoda Vagonka as the winner of a contract to supply six dual-system electric multiple-units for use on the Tallinn – Tartu route from the end of 2024.
-
NewsShorter N700S to serve Nagasaki
JAPAN: JR Kyushu is to introduce a six-car derivative of the N700S high speed train family for use on the isolated Kyushu Shinkansen branch from Takeo Onsen to Nagasaki, which is scheduled to open in 2022.
-
NewsSpanish high speed network extended towards Galicia
SPAIN: A 110∙8 km section of the Madrid to Galicia high speed line between Zamora, Puebla de Sanabria and Pedralba de la Pradería was inaugurated by ADIF on October 26.
-
NewsBerlin S-Bahn extended to BER airport
GERMANY: Berlin S-Bahn services were extended to the new Berlin Brandenburg International airport on October 26, in preparation for the start of full operations at the end of the month.
-
In depthComment: Realism amid the romance
While the recent resurgence in sleeping car services in Europe has been rightly lauded, Managing Editor Nick Kingsley argues that policymakers must be realistic in accepting that overnight trains alone cannot deliver the modal shift to rail which will be necessary to meet climate goals.
-
Rail Business UKWales & Borders rail operations to transfer to public control with new role for KeolisAmey
UK: Plans to bring Wales & Borders passenger services under public management have been announced by the Welsh Government, along with a new partnership which would see Transport for Wales continue to work with Keolis and Amey.
-
NewsCRRC unveils gauge-changing high speed train
CHINA: State-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles has unveiled a prototype gauge-changing high speed train intended for international operation.
-
NewsCP orders 1 668 mm gauge electric and bi-mode multiple-units
PORTUGAL: National operator CP has awarded Stadler its first contract to supply 1 668 mm gauge versions of its Flirt regional multiple-unit family for use on the Iberian Peninsula.
-
Rail Business UKNational Rail Contracts to succeed ERMAs as cost cutting envisaged
UK: The future direction of passenger contracts is becoming clearer, as insiders confirm that successful negotiations between owning groups and the Department for Transport would see franchised operators move from Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements to new National Rail Contracts. NRCs are expected to continue until post-Covid passenger ...
-
Rail Business UKScotRail’s active travel coach offers space for skis, tandems and e-bikes
UK: ScotRail has unveiled the interior of the first of the five ‘active travel’ coaches which are being produced by modifying Class 153 single-car diesel multiple-units to carry up to 20 bicycles, bulky luggage and sporting equipment such as skis. The vehicles also ...