Rail News
JR East to offer sightseeing train ‘Satono’ for southern Tohoku
The Asahi Shimbun
January 27, 2023 (Japan)
The Satono sightseeing train is set to make its debut in or around spring 2024 in the southern Tohoku region. (Provided by East Japan Railway Co.’s Tohoku Area Headquarters)
East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) announced plans to introduce a new sightseeing train that will operate mainly in Miyagi, Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures of the southern Tohoku region in or around spring 2024.
With a maximum passenger capacity of 59, the train, named “Satono,” will be remodeled from the two-car Resort Asunaro sightseeing service currently running on the JR Ominato Line in Aomori Prefecture and other routes.
Accommodating 25 passengers, the first car will mainly be fitted out with box seats for up to four people. The base color of the exterior will be painted green in tribute to the mountains and natural features in the region.
The second car, which can carry up to 34 passengers, will feature reclining seats. It will be painted in blue and other colors in a nod to the sea and rivers of Tohoku.
JR East plans to operate the Satono in conjunction with seasonal events in the three prefectures and other special occasions.
Source
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14813860
Recommended for you
Increasing to 100 Kmph, a major challenge for Delhi metro engineers
RailFactor Exclusive 22 March 2023 (India) For the engineers of Delhi Metro, bringing the Airport Express Link's operational speed up to 100 KMPH posed a significant engineering task. The key accomplishments of this enormous endeavour included careful planning, 24-hour supervision, and a determination to avoid having the work interfere with passenger operations. One of the most difficult technological developments in the country's annals of Metro train operations will be this. The goal was only reached within six months, far ahead of the anticipated deadlines, thanks to a detailed mechanism for the replacement of some rail components, maintenance and repair of civil structures, and re-profiling of some Rolling stock components. The increase in operational speed required numerous track-related maintenance tasks to ensure that passengers would experience the least amount of inconvenience possible, making it a historic technical development in Metro train operations. In order to make them more compatible with the revised speed strength, the main activity included replacing more than 2.6 lakh existing tension clamps on the rails throughout the complete AEL network with high-frequency tension clamps. Source https://www.delhimetrorail.com/pages/en/pressrelease_details/increasing-to-100-kmph-a-major-challenge-for-delhi
14 hrs ago
Read MoreGermany gives green light to €49-a-month public transport ticket
The Guardian 17 March 2023 (Germany) Plan for ticket covering regional rail, metro, trams and buses across country follows success of €9 scheme last year A follow-up to Germany’s immensely popular €9 (£7.90) monthly public transport ticket scheme has been given the green light in the Bundestag, in a move aimed at getting passengers to switch to greener forms of transport. Parliamentarians on Thursday voted to approve plans to introduce a €49-a-month ticket covering regional rail, metro, trams and bus travel across Germany. The vote in parliament cleared the way for the national government to cover half of the scheme’s annual cost of €3bn for the next three years, with the other half paid for by Germany’s 16 federal states. If, as expected, the €49 ticket is given the seal of approval by the German parliament’s upper house, the Bundesrat, on 31 March, the scheme will come into effect on 1 May. The transport minister, Volker Wissing, hailed the new ticket scheme as a “role model for the whole of Europe” that would boost public transport use. Wissing, of the liberal Free Democratic party (FDP), has been under fire over the transport sector’s failure to meet carbon reduction targets. The original €9-a-month ticket scheme was put in place from June to the end of August last year to incentivise travellers to switch to greener forms of transport and give financial relief to consumers facing a cost of living crisis. With about half of Germany’s adult population having taking part in the scheme that the government subsidised with €2.5bn, the ticket was as popular as it was inexpensive. Whether it had a significant positive impact on the environment has been questioned: most Germans used the €9 ticket to travel around the country for leisure, while there has been little statistical evidence showing that those who commute by car changed their transport routines in any meaningful way. The new ticket – being called “Germany ticket” by the government – is hence designed to be most attractive to people who commute in and out of larger cities, where old subscription-based discount schemes are mostly more expensive than €49 a month. The ticket, available in digital form via a smartphone app or as a chip card, will work on a subscription model that can be cancelled before the 10th day of each month, meaning it may still pay off as a one-off investment for some holidays or weekend trips. Long-distance coaches and trains such as those on the high-speed ICE network are not included in the scheme. Due to Germany’s decentralised political system, tickets bought in different cities or regions will come with different rules and add-ons. In the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, people travelling on a €49 ticket can also take a bicycle and a dog no bigger than a cat on the train with them for free. In and around the southern city of Stuttgart, travellers can transfer their ticket subscription to friends, relatives or colleagues if they pay an additional €9.90. States such as Bavaria are offering discounts for students, trainees and those doing voluntary service, who will only have to pay €29 a month. Source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/17/germany-gives-green-light-new-monthly-public-transport-ticket
14 hrs ago
Read MoreGermany at a standstill as huge strike halts planes and trains
Reuters March 27, 2023 (Germany) Airports and bus and train stations across Germany were at a standstill on Monday, causing disruption for millions of people during one of the largest walkouts in decades in Europe's biggest economy as soaring inflation stokes wage demands. The 24-hour "warning" strikes called by the Verdi union and railway and transport union EVG were the latest in months of industrial action which has hit major European economies as higher food and energy prices dent living standards. They kicked off three days of wage talks which could lead to further strikes if they fail to yield a compromise. Employers have offered 5% more wages over a period of 27 months and a one-off payment of 2,500 euros ($2,700) - proposals unions, which are calling for a double digit rise, call unacceptable amid inflation which reached 9.3% in February. Verdi is demanding a 10.5% wage increase, which would see pay rising by at least 500 euros per month, while EVG is asking for a 12% raise or at least 650 euros per month. "Employees are fed up with being fobbed off with warm words while work conditions get ever worse and there are many vacant posts," Verdi Chief Frank Werneke told reporters. Striking workers wearing high-vis jackets blew horns and whistles, held up banners and waved flags during protests. Germany, which was heavily dependent on Russia for gas before the war in Ukraine, has been particularly hard hit by higher prices, with inflation rates exceeding the euro-area average in recent months. Worsening chronic labour shortages give unions a strong negotiating hand, economists say. The walkout is the biggest in Germany, which has a long history of collective wage bargaining, since 1992, according to Verdi. The Airports Association ADV estimated that 380,000 air passengers were affected by flight suspensions including at two of Germany's largest airports in Munich and Frankfurt, with stranded travellers sleeping on benches. Rail services were also cancelled by railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL). In Cologne, the lack of city trains prompted a dash for taxis. "Millions of passengers who depend on buses and trains are suffering from this excessive, exaggerated strike," a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said. Verdi is negotiating on behalf of around 2.5 million employees in the public sector, including in public transport and at airports, while EVG negotiates for around 230,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn and bus companies. Stranded passengers expressed both sympathy and unhappiness about the strike action. "Yes, it's justified but I for one never went on strike in my entire life and I have been working for more than 40 years. At the same time, in France they go on strike all the time about something," said passenger Lars Boehm. Germamy's union strife pales in comparison with protests against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms in France which have sparked the worst street violence in years. MORE STRIKES Persistent cost pressures have pushed central banks to a series of interest rate increases but policymakers say they have no so far seen signs of a destabilising price-wage spiral. "This catching up that we see today, still with negative real wage increases, is compatible with what we would expect for monetary policy purposes," Portuguese central bank Governor Mario Centeno said on Monday. Sharp wage increases could squeeze the fiscal room for manoeuvre for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, making already fractious budget negotiations more difficult. The interior ministry said the demands were equivalent to extra costs of 1.4 billion euros per year - and if that wage agreement were extended to other public sector workers as well as retired civil servants, judges and soldiers, it would equal 4.7 billion euros in total. Employers are also warning that higher wages for transport workers would result in increased fares. EVG chairman Martin Burkert warned further strikes were possible, including over the Easter holiday period. "People have second or third jobs to make ends meet," striking worker Christoph Gerschner said. Data presented to ECB policymakers last month and reported on exclusively by Reuters showed that companies were raising prices in excess of their costs at the expense of consumers and wage earners. Commerzbank Chief Economist Joerg Kraemer said the economic impact of Monday's strike on Germany's 181-million-euro ($194-million)-a-day transport sector was limited so far but this could change if the strikes persisted. "The losses are likely to be limited to the transportation industry because factories will continue to operate and many employees will be working from home." ($1 = 0.9293 euros) Source https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/largest-strike-decades-leaves-germany-standstill-2023-03-27/
14 hrs ago
Read More