Passenger rail news – Page 93
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NewsProduction of paired coaches approved
RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Tver plant is to produce a pilot batch of 61-4517 and 61-4516 passenger coaches which will operate in coupled pairs, a concept which the manufacturer said was being implemented in Russia for the first time. Shipments are planned to start in September. One coach from each pair ...
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NewsTehran – Ankara passenger service relaunched
ASIA: The Transasia Express passenger service between Tehran and Ankara has been relaunched after a four-year suspension. The first departure left the Iranian capital on August 7, watched by Managing Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Saeed Rasouli and the Turkish ambassador. The train is scheduled ...
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Rail Business UKConsultation on trans-Pennine route modernisation
UK: Network Rail is to begin public consultation this summer on plans to rebuild and electrify a 13 km section of the trans-Pennine corridor between Manchester and York via Leeds. The plans form part of the infrastructure manager’s £2·9bn Transpennine Upgrade programme, which is intended to modernise the route ...
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NewsTender favours state incumbent, new entrants’ group claims
SLOVAKIA: The ALLRAIL group of new entrants to the rail market has expressed concerned about tender for the operation of passenger services on the Žilina – Rajec line, saying it believes that the process favours state incumbent ZSSK and ‘it seems that real competition is not wanted’. The tender ...
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NewsSBB and ÖBB to strengthen overnight services
EUROPE: Citing a significant increase in demand for international passenger services during the first half of 2019, Swiss Federal Railways announced on August 19 that it intended to strengthen its long-term co-operation with Austria’s ÖBB and expand the provision of both daytime and overnight trains. Suggesting that increased awareness ...
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NewsAlstom to supply 252 multiple-unit cars to Western Australia
AUSTRALIA: Public Transport Authority of Western Australia announced on August 19 that it had selected Alstom Transport Australia as preferred bidder to supply the next generation of electric multiple-units to operate on the Transperth network serving the state capital. Details of the A$1·6bn contract are expected to be ...
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NewsJapanese take over Rio suburban network
BRAZIL: A consortium of Mitsui and West Japan Railway has purchased a majority stake in Rio de Janeiro suburban operator SuperVia, at a reported cost of around ¥20bn. The Japanese trading group had previously held a 24% stake in the concessionaire, through its stake in SuperVia parent Odebrecht Mobilidad. ...
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News
Lausanne – Bercher EMU delivered
SWITZERLAND: Chemin de fer Lausanne-Echallens-Bercher has begun taking delivery of six three-car electric multiple-units being supplied by Stadler. The Be 4/8 EMUs ordered in 2017 are derived from the Worbla units which Stadler has supplied to Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn. The 23·6 km metre-gauge LEB route between Lausanne-Flon and ...
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Rail Business UKFirst Trenitalia awarded West Coast Partnership
UK: The consortium of FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) has been selected for the West Coast Partnership franchise to operate intercity services on the West Coast Main Line and the first phase of High Speed 2, the Department for Transport announced on August 14. Final award is ...
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NewsSunbury line upgrade package
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government has approved the first package of civil works to upgrade the 39·5 km Sunbury suburban line, which forms the electrified suburban section of the Melbourne – Bendigo main line. The upgrading will pave the way for enhanced services following completion of the Metro Tunnel ...
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NewsRegioJet to launch Praha – Wien – Budapest service
EUROPE: Czech open access operator RegioJet has announced plans to launch a long-distance passenger service on the Praha – Wien – Budapest route from June 2020. There would be two trains each way per day, operated as extensions of the Praha – Brno – Wien services which have been running ...
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NewsAppenzeller Bahnen to Ouagadougou
AFRICA: Société de Transport Ivoiro-Burkinabe has acquired rolling stock formerly used by Appenzeller Bahnen in Switzerland. Following refurbishment in France, the three BDe 4/4 II electric railcars, three ABt driving cars and nine second class coaches are to be used on thrice-weekly services between Abidjan in Côte ...
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Rail Business UKLevenmouth reopening moves forward
UK: The Scottish Government has given the go-ahead for detailed design work to support the proposed reopening of the 6·5 km railway serving Levenmouth at an estimated cost of £70m, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure & Connectivity Michael Matheson confirmed on August 8. The rail link had been identified ...
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NewsAmsterdam – Brussels trainsets ordered
NETHERLANDS: National operator NS has awarded Alstom a contract to supply a further 18 Intercity New Generation 200 km/h electric multiple-units, which will provide it with a pool of 20 units equipped for use on Amsterdam – Brussels services as well as domestic routes. This would enable the locomotive-hauled ...
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Rail Business UKUK in Interrail and Eurail ticketing dispute
UK: The Rail Delivery Group will cease to be a member of the Eurail Group of railway companies with effect from January 1 2020, ending the ability of visitors to Great Britain to use the Interrail and Eurail pass schemes. RDG offers its own its range of BritRail passes. ...
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NewsCoast-to-coast cruise train crosses Africa
INTERNATIONAL: On August 2 a passenger train set out on the return leg of a coast-to-coast trip across Africa. Departing from the port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast and bound for the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean, the train had arrived in Lobito on ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Eastern franchise competition cancelled pending Rail Review
UK: The Department for Transport terminated the competition for the next South Eastern franchise on August 7, saying it had ‘significant concerns’ that continuing with the process ‘would lead to additional costs incurred to the taxpayer, with no certainty that this would deliver envisaged benefits for passengers ...
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NewsAlstom to supply 10 EMUs to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
FRANCE: Alstom is to supply the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region with a further 10 four-car Coradia Polyvalent multi-system electric multiple-units for €70m. The region has previously ordered 17 similar units which are scheduled to enter service on the cross-border Léman Express route to Switzerland in mid-December 2019. The latest batch ...
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NewsBaden-Württemberg backs battery Mireos
GERMANY: The Land of Baden-Württemberg has decided to order a fleet of 20 Mireo battery-electric multiple units from Siemens Mobility to operate the Netz 8 Ortenau package of regional lines, the state government announced on August 2. Procurement began in May for the concession to operate the electrified route ...
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NewsTrenitalia plans €2·7bn regional EMU spend
ITALY: State-owned passenger operator Trenitalia has invited expressions of interest by October 1 for the supply of up to 250 single-deck EMUs with an estimated total value of €2·7bn. The FS Group subsidiary is looking to award two four-year framework agreements for EMUs to operate regional passenger services on ...