Europe News

Latest news and developments from Europe region

• Deutsche Bahn to run passenger services through the Channel Tunnel

  June 15, 2013
  The Intergovernmental Commission, Groupe Eurotunnel SA, has granted Deutsche Bahn (DB) an operating certificate (Certificate B) to run passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, in competition with Eurostar Group Limited.

• Stockholm metro’s driverless trains to cost SEK1.2 billion

  June 14, 2013
  According to a report by Stockholm Public Transport (SL), driverless trains on Stockholm's red metro line will cost SEK1.20 billion.

• Approval for Network Rail’s capital investment budget for 2014-19

  June 14, 2013
  The Office of Rail Regulation has approved Network Rail’s capital investment budget of GBP12.2 billion for April 2014 to April 2019.

• Siemens secures Thameslink rolling stock contract

  June 14, 2013
  The Department of Transport has awarded a GBP1.6 billion rolling stock contract for the Thameslink north-to-south London rail service to a consortium led by Siemens.

• Three stations open on Milan-Bologna HSR line

  June 14, 2013
  Three new railway stations have opened on Italy’s Milan-Bologna high-speed rail (HSR) line. Reggio Emilia AV Mediopadana station has been designed by Spain-based Santiago Calatrava, and will connect the city with Italy’s HSR network.

• First Helsinki tram inaugurated

  June 13, 2013
  The first of the new tramcars for the City of Helsinki has been rolled out at the Otanmäki rolling stock plant of Transtech Limited.

• EIB provides additional funds for Ankara-Istanbul HSR

  June 12, 2013
  The Turkish State Railways (TSD) has secured an additional funding of EUR200 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed rail (HSR) project.

• Skanska to build bus depot in Gustavsberg, Sweden

  June 11, 2013
  Sweden-based construction company Skanska AB has signed an SEK375 million contract with Stockholm's public transport operator Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL) for the construction of a new bus depot in Gustavsberg, east of Stockholm, Sweden.

• Vossloh and Eiffage Rail Express signs contract for Brittany-Loire Valley HSR line

  June 10, 2013
  Vossloh Cogifer SA has signed a contract with Eiffage Rail Express to supply points and crossings and associated services for the future Brittany-Loire Valley high-speed rail (HSR) line, also known as the BPL.

• Gemalto to provide UpTeq NFC SIM for mobile transport services in Russia

  June 10, 2013
  Netherlands-based Gemalto, a digital security solutions provider, has entered into an agreement with Russian network operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) for supplying the latter with its UpTeq near-field communication (NFC) high-end SIM cards for a mobile phone-based public transport ticketing solution in the city of Novosibirsk.

• Dutch government to cancel V250 order with AnsaldoBreda

  June 10, 2013
  The Dutch government has reportedly decided to cancel its contract with AnsaldoBreda for 16 V250 high-speed trains, backing the decision of the Netherlands Railways (NS). Numerous concerns have been expressed about the performance of the V250 high-speed trains, including safety-critical functions.

• MVK trams on test in Plzen

  June 7, 2013
  The first of the 31 trams ordered by the Miskolc transport operator, MVK, is being tested in the Czech city of Plzen.

• Albacete-Alicante high-speed line to open on June 18

  June 7, 2013
  The Spanish government has announced that Renfe will start commercial services on the 165-km high-speed line from Albacete to Alicante on June 18.

• Bombardier to supply MOVIA metro fleet for Stockholm; delivers 100th FLEXITY tram to HAVAG

  June 6, 2013
  Bombardier Transportation has secured a contract for 96 Movia C30 metro vehicles from SL, the Stockholm Public Transport Authority.

• Network Rail selects five IT vendors for simplifying operations

  June 5, 2013
  UK-based Network Rail has roped in five IT vendors to design and manage its IT infrastructure in a contract, estimated at over GBP350 million.

• High-speed plans in Norway called off

  June 4, 2013
  The Norwegian government has scrapped the plans for high-speed rail construction in Norway.

• Stagecoach launches 22 new buses for North Devon [free access]

  June 3, 2013
  Stagecoach has launched 22 new buses at a cost of GBP4 million for North Devon.

• Crossrail achieves two milestones

  June 3, 2013
  London's Crossrail project has achieved two milestones. The first tunnel boring machine (TBM) hole is through at Canary Wharf box station.

• Alstom develops modular metro system

  May 31, 2013
  Alstom has developed a modular metro system, Axonis, which will be able to transport from 15,000 to 45,000 passengers per hour per direction.

• Transport for London (TfL) launches Countdown Digital Sign service

  May 31, 2013
  TfL has launched a new Countdown Digital Sign service.