Passenger rail news – Page 9
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Rail Business UKInterview: ‘Welsh rail services are improving rapidly’
UK: Transport for Wales Rail’s Chief Operating Officer Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde is optimistic about progress being made in transforming passenger services across the country, despite the financial and operational headwinds facing the Welsh transport sector.
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NewsArenaways to revive passenger trains on two routes in northern Italy
ITALY: Italian private operator Arenaways has been awarded a public service obligation contract to run passenger services on two lines in the Piemonte region which were closed for passenger traffic in 2012, CEO of Arenaways Matteo Arena told Railway Gazette International on May 21. On March ...
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NewsPKP Intercity orders bi-mode fleet
POLAND: National operator PKP Intercity announced on May 22 that it had reached an agreement with Newag for the supply of 35 electro-diesel multiple units. Newag was the sole bidder in the tendering process with a 3·36bn złoty offer. The agreement includes 10 years of maintenance, ...
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Metro Report InternationalDeutschland-Ticket fraud revealed
GERMANY: Widespread cases of fraud involving the purchase of the flat-fare Deutschland-Ticket have been uncovered. Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Main had reported a number of fraudulent transactions in March, but the problem has since become more common, with Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe warning on May 22 that numerous cases of criminal ...
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NewsFlirt EMUs ordered for cross-border services
EUROPE: Swiss Federal Railways has exercised an option for Stadler to supply a further 33 Flirt Evo electric multiple-units. These will be used to provide regional services between northwest Switzerland and Alsace in France every 30 min from the end of 2030. The order has been ...
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Rail Business UKVirgin plans return to rail as an open access operator
UK: Virgin Group has applied to the Office of Rail & Road for train paths which would enable it to return to the rail network as an open access operator.
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Metro Report InternationalControl centre opening marks latest stage in Paris RER modernisation
FRANCE: Paris transport operator RATP and national railway SNCF have transferred the management of RER Line A to a new control centre.
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup’s Lumo seeks to launch Rochdale – London open access service
UK: FirstGroup has applied to operate Rochdale – London open access passenger trains, more than 20 years after a short-lived through service ran between the two destinations. On May 17 FirstGroup said that it had applied to the Office of Rail & Road to launch six ...
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NewsEurostar plans to acquire 50 ‘fully interoperable’ trains
EUROPE: International high speed train operator Eurostar says it is ‘preparing to invest’ in up to 50 high speed trainsets, which would be fully interoperable ’across five countries and beyond’. The new trains would enter service from the early 2030s, replacing the 17 PBKA and nine ...
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NewsOxygène next-generation French inter-city train unveiled
FRANCE: National passenger operator SNCF Voyageurs and manufacturer CAF have unveiled the first of the Z26700 Oxygène inter-city trainsets which will replace Corail locomotive-hauled coaches on 200 km/h inter-city serves on conventional lines. The Oxygène trainsets are designed to be ‘the reference inter-city train of the ...
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NewsScenic Plus coach refurbished for New Zealand tourist train service
NEW ZEALAND: National railway KiwiRail’s tourist train business Great Journeys New Zealand has unveiled a coach which has been refurbished to provide a premium ‘immersive travel experience’ on the 223 km TranzAlpine coast-to-coast service between Greymouth and Christchurch. ‘The innovative carriage is the icing on the ...
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NewsRegioJet orders Škoda EMUs
CZECH REPUBLIC: RegioJet has awarded Škoda Group a KC3·5bn contract to supply 23 customised 160 km/h electric multiple-units. The order announced on May covers 15 two-car and eight three-car units to be delivered by December 2026. They will be used on services in the Ústí nad ...
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Metro Report InternationalVirtual reality to help people use public transport
BRAZIL: The Alstom Foundation and Instituto Jô Clemente have launched a Virtual Reality for Inclusion initiative which aims to help people with disabilities overcome accessibility obstacles and use urban public transport safely. This will include people with cognitive disabilities, rare diseases and autistic spectrum disorders. Simulated ...
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NewsDB Regio orders EMUs with ski holders
GERMANY: Siemens Mobility has been awarded its first contact to supply Desiro HS electric multiple-units equipped with holders for transporting skis. DB Regio is to use the six five-car Desiro HC partly double-deck EMUs on regional services from München to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. The incumbent is to ...
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NewsImprovements to railway serving car-free village near completion
SWITZERLAND: Stadler is delivering new rolling stock as part of the final stage of a programme to increase capacity and accessibility on Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren’s metre-gauge railway. Jungfraubahnen company BLM operates a cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp, where passengers change to a 4 km adhesion railway ...
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NewsAlberta to develop passenger rail master plan
CANADA: The government of Alberta has allocated C$9m for the development of a Passenger Rail Master Plan as a foundation for the development of commuter and regional services to meet the needs of the growing population. ‘World class’ consultants are to be appointed to produce the ...
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NewsChizhou – Huangshan high speed line opens
CHINA: The 125 km Chizhou – Huangshan high speed line through the mountains and valleys of Anhui province opened on April 26. The 350 km/h route is designated as a regional connecting line within the ‘eight vertical and eight horizontal’ national high speed rail development strategy. ...
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Rail Business UKRetailers says competition can improve train ticketing
UK: Representatives of independent ticket retailer Trainline and distribution technology company SilverRail have been questioned by the House of Commons Transport Committee as part of its scrutiny of the government’s draft Rail Reform Bill.
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NewsParis RER Line E reaches Nanterre
FRANCE: An 8 km largely underground extension of Paris RER Line E from Magenta-Gare du Nord to Nanterre-La Folie (Hauts de Seine) has opened.
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Rail Business UKTrain operator obtains Communication Accessible accreditation
UK: Communication Access UK has accredited East Midlands Railway as being Communication Accessible. This follows the train operator’s efforts to provide enhanced communication choices for customers, and to provide staff with the skills to utilise assistive technology effectively. EMR has introduced TALK cards for staff and ...