Commuter rail
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NewsTesla shuttle returns with battery trains
GERMANY: The free shuttle train to Tesla’s Gigafactory plant in Grünheide to the east of Berlin restarted on August 7, using two Siemens Mobility Mireo B battery-electric multiple-units instead of a pair of Bombardier Transportation Talent diesels.
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NewsBattery-electric trains to be ordered for Boston commuter line
USA: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board has approved a proposal to replace diesel locomotive-hauled trains on Boston’s Fairmount Commuter Rail Line with battery-electric multiple-units. An onboard battery would be charged when overhead electrification is available, including at Boston’s South station. The 15 km line from ...
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NewsNJ Transit orders more double-deck EMU cars
USA: The board of New Jersey’s NJ Transit has approved an order for 36 more Alstom Multilevel III electric multiple-unit cars. The maximum price of the order approved on July 24 is $170m plus 5% for contingencies. It is being placed using a December 2018 contract ...
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NewsNew York East River Tunnel rehabilitation contract awarded
USA: Amtrak has appointed a joint venture of Skanska and E-J Electric Installation Co to undertake the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project to modernise the four bores connecting New York Penn Station with Queens. Two of the four single-track tubes require significant repairs to damage caused ...
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NewsAlstom wins €4bn contract to supply ‘tailor-made’ Köln S-Bahn trains
GERMANY: Transport authorities go.Rheinland and Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr have selected Alstom to supply and maintain 90 custom-designed Adessia Stream electric multiple-units for S-Bahn services through Köln. Alstom said the order announced on July 24 was the largest it had won in Germany, with an overall value of ...
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Rail Business UKRail and tram-train in Manchester’s Bee Network expansion plans
UK: Local rail services around Manchester are to be brought into the region’s expanding Bee Network by 2028 as part of a public transport development strategy unveiled by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on July 10.
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NewsMetro Academy enables rail recruits to hit the ground running
AUSTRALIA: A ‘state-of-the-art’ Metro Academy has been opened in Melbourne to train rail staff ready for the opening of the cross-city suburban rail Metro Tunnel at the end of 2025. The academy has classrooms, tracks and platform replicas, including station equipment, and will support the existing ...
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NewsSprinter corridor double-tracking project gets grant
USA: The federal Department of Transportation has awarded California’s North County Transit District a $10·2m grant to complete preliminary engineering and environmental clearance for the San Marcos to Escondido eastern segment of the Sprinter Corridor Service Improvement Project. The overall project involves 15 km of double-tracking ...
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Metro Report InternationalJapanese local railway pilots facial recognition ticketing
JAPAN: Light rail and bus operator Yamaman Co has added facial recognition to the Jorudan Style Point&Pass ticketing system used on its 4·1 km six-station Yukarigaoka Line and local bus services. Passengers need to register online and provide a passport-style photo and credit card details to ...
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NewsDanish train operator to buy solar power
DENMARK: National passenger operator DSB has agreed to purchase 80 GWh/year from the 262 GWh/year Lidsø Solar Park which European Energy is to develop on a 253 ha site at Rødbyhavn. DSB said this is equivalent to half of the current power consumption of its København ...
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Rail Business UKElizabeth Line tunnels get mobile coverage
UK: Transport for London and neutral telecoms infrastructure provider Boldyn Networks have deployed public 4G and 5G mobile coverage in the Elizabeth Line tunnels between Liverpool Street station and the Royal Oak portal to the west of Paddington. This comes after coverage at the stations went live ...
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Rail Business UKSign language translation to be tested at London Overground stations
UK: London Overground operating concessionaire Arriva Rail London is to test technology that translates digital passenger information into British Sign Language which can be accessed through a smart device via a personalised digital avatar. The Luna platform supplied by GoMedia uses translation technology from Signapse. Trials ...
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NewsChinese coaches enter service in Montréal
CANADA: Montréal regional transport authority Exo put its first CRRC-built double-deck commuter rail coaches into revenue service on the Saint-Jérôme route on June 25, following a launch run on June 21.
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NewsBologna launches cross-city suburban service
ITALY: Regional operator Trenitalia Tper has introduced cross-city suburban services in the Bologna area with effect from June 9. Route SFM1 linking Porretta in the southwest with Pianoro to the southeast has been established by the extension of the existing Porretta – Bologna Centrale service to ...
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Rail Business UKOrder for extra Elizabeth Line trains confirmed
UK: Alstom has signed a contract to supply and maintain a further 10 nine-car Class 345 Aventra electric multiple-units for London’s Elizabeth Line. The £220·5m order is being funded by the Department for Transport, with Transport for London contracting for maintenance until 2046 which takes the ...
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In depthInterview: ‘The commuter experience will be back to its best’
South Africa’s Railway Safety Regulator is tasked with overseeing safe and secure rail services on a network ravaged by vandalism and asset theft over recent years. RSR is also implementing the government’s plan to open up the Transnet network to new entrants. Acting CEO Mmuso Selaledi explains the scale of the challenge to Benjámin Zelki.
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NewsNairobi battery commuter train study
KENYA: Consultancy Systra has undertaken a study into the potential use of battery-powered trains on commuter services between Nairobi and Thika, around 40 km to the northeast. The study presented to Kenya Railways and World Bank officials in April looked at what would be involved in ...
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Metro Report InternationalPrivate sector funding sought for next phase of Seoul Great Train Express
SOUTH KOREA: Minister of Land, Infrastructure & Transport Park Sang-woo has engaged with businesses to explore options to use private financing as well as government funding for the second phase of the Great Train Express programme in the Seoul region. The second phase would support the ...
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NewsSouthern section of Guangzhou – Foshan circular line opens
CHINA: The South Ring Section of the Guangzhou – Foshan circular railway opened on May 26, running from Panyu (Guangzhou Nan) to Foshan Xi. The route is shared with the Guangzhou – Foshan – Zhaoqing inter-city railway. Services run at up to 200 km/h. Construction of ...
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NewsVirginia looks to boost passenger services
USA: Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is in preliminary discussions with Norfolk Southern for the purchase of the route used by Manassas Line commuter services, and to introduce passenger services to the New River Valley in the southeast of the state. Purchasing the Manassas Line would enable ...