#regionalrail — Public Fediverse posts

Speaking of Warmia-Masuria… The voivodeship doesn't see itself as being particularly in the wrong regarding its shoddy tender… but they've delayed the proposed starting date to the yearly timetable change in December 2027. It's a start: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/warminskomazurskie-nowi-operatorzy-od-grudnia-2027--153853.html

(If you haven't read it yet, try my thread about from June, it's a bit juicy: https://mastodon.com.pl/@HaTetsu/116720881964644481)

#RegionalRail #kolej #rail #WarminskoMazurskie

And just today, an Impuls EMU travelled to Szczecin chemical plant suburb town of Police as part of an announcement - the long-delayed return of passenger trains to the line encircling the city will happen early next year (subject to availability of voivodeship/city funds, as I understand it): https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/skm-szczecin-pociagi-do-polic-pojada-w-2027-roku-153199.html

The proposed timetable envisions hourly trains, boosted to half-hourly most weekday hours (I believe) to/from Police, with additional hourly (half-hourly in peak) trains terminating at Szczecin Niebuszewo. Most of these would be integrated into the exisiting Regio network and continue to destinations around the voivodeship and beyond: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/ponad-30-par-pociagow-ze-szczecina-do-polic-mamy-projekt-rozkladu-jazdy-153191.html

#kolej #rail #Zachodniopomorskie #Szczecin #SKM #Polregio #RegionalRail

Before I go into the objections, let's see how things are laid out:

The voivodeship divided the order into three lots, all mostly centered on Olsztyn, its capital:
- Lot I - "Internal" - covering electric trains to Elbląg and Ełk via Korsze-Giżycko, and also diesel trains Korsze-Bartoszyce when that reopens in 2028 (hopefully)
- Lot II - "Diesel" - covering trains to Braniewo, Ełk via Szczytno-Pisz, Ostrołęka, the airport near Szymany, NEW trains from Ełk to Olecko (they're reopening that in 2027? huh), and on the middle east-west line that is to reopen for passenger traffic in June 2027 up to Mrągowo and in June 2028 to Ełk via Mikołajki
- Lot III - "Interregional Axis" - covering electric trains to Działdowo, Iława and Jabłonowo Pomorskie, as well as along the Warsaw-Gdańsk mainline between Działdowo and Iława, so everything south-west of Olsztyn (how did I manage to miswrite this so hard)

Here's a Paint-quality map of these for the more visual-minded:

#WarminskoMazurskie #rail #kolej #przetarg #RegionalRail

Meanwhile, there's also some crazy tender action I missed going on in Warmia-Masuria (I thought they signed a new contract a few years ago, guess they finally realized they need to add more train-km if they are to keep reopening lines?) and BOTH Arriva and Polregio have filed appeals claiming a veritable litany of violations in the order specification itself. Both document packages together are about 60 megs zipped

#WarminskoMazurskie #kolej #rail #RegionalRail #Polregio #Arriva

Elsewhere, Poland's next major timetable change is on the coming weekend and will mark the return of trains to Łomża in the western part of the Podlachian Voivodeship - Polregio drivers are getting their route knowledge rides in: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/polregio-pociagi-wracaja-do-lomzy-153132.html

For a bit more info on changes to PLK timetables elsewhere you can see this post by @NymeHess (in German): https://zug.network/@NymeHess/116626380703078077

(in Pomerania, this includes the return of trains to Somonino, notably)

#kolej #rail #Polregio #RegionalRail

They have also published a notice of intent to tender new routes on lines to be reactivated/upgraded:
- Gdańsk-Kartuzy-Sierakowice-Lębork
- Gdynia-Lębork-Łeba (electric)
- Kościerzyna-Lipusz-Bytów-Korzybie-Słupsk (no direct trains Tricity-Bytów, or even Kościerzyna-Bytów, this sounds like a possible challenge to coordinate… or a chance to build up secondary centers)
- Nowy Dwór Gdański-Szymankowo-Tczew
https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/pomorskie-zapowiada-przetarg-na-pociagi-do-bytowa-nowego-dworu-gd-i-sierakowic---153128.html

Of course, if and when each of these happens will depend on when PKP PLK gets around to rebuilding the lines.

The line to Łeba is currently closed for engineering works and trains there are being replaced with buses this year (normally there's a summer-holiday-only train service): https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/pomorskie-uruchamia-sezonowa-komunikacje-zastepcza-do-leby--153106.html

#kolej #rail #Pomorskie #RegionalRail

In Pomerania railway news - the voivodeship has announced it will use emergency powers to extend existing contracts for the SKM line and diesel Regios while the lots are retendered - final new contracts for the other two will be signed, so SKMT is set to take over EMU regios in December (wonder what will happen to the trains to Bydgoszcz and Olsztyn, by the way): https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/pomorskie-najpierw-tryb-zakloceniowy-potem--nowy-przetarg-na-przewozy-153083.html

#kolej #rail #pomorskie #SKMT #Polregio #RegionalRail

Soooo, here's some more Polish railway news repeating… um, curation, I guess:

Up first, in a surprising U-turn, the government appears to have quietly reverted the removal of the absolute tender requirement for regional rail in its public transport amendment bill (as a reminder, Poland was made to tighten the rules now slowly effectively coming into force as contracts expire in exchange for being allowed to bail out Polregio a decade ago). I guess the Commission was less accommodating than they expected and the voivodeships will just have to hope competition doesn't show up?

https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/nie-bedzie-powierzania-przewozow-wojewodzkich-art-22a-jednak-zostaje-152981.html

#kolej #rail #RegionalRail

The Podlachian Voivodeship would be very interested in trains returning to Białowieża, known for the deep forests home to the barely-brought-back-from-exinction-in-the-wild european bison or żubr. As long as the state takes the line back from it, repairs it, and supplements the anemic offer they're going to provide with InterCitys, that is: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/podlaskie-proponuje-pociagi-dalekobiezne-do-bialowiezy--152909.html

#Podlaskie #RegionalRail #kolej #rail

The newly-restored line to Łomża will only have three pairs of regional trains on weekends (four on working days) - less than the four required by the terms of the Kolej Plus scheme covering the investment. The voivodeship justifies this with 'continuing works' and claims that the proper minimum service will be run - once the project is really done: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/podlaskie-tylko-trzy-pociagi-regionalne-do-lomzy-w-weekendy-152778.html

#Podlaskie #kolej #rail #Polregio #Łomża #RegionalRail

So, a little Rynek Kolejowy drop: Koleje Dolnośląskie (Lower Silesian Railways) will take over the remaining Głogów-Zielona Góra trains from Polregio, having previously been given all trains running through from Wrocław. The Zielona Góra-Żary-Węgliniec-Görlitz route will remain with Polregio for the time being despite speculation and the voivodeship's continued disappointment with the company's performance. The Lubusz Voivodeship also confirmed their Lower Silesian counterparts' earlier announcement that they will be running Legnica-Cottbus trains (as seen at https://mastodon.com.pl/@HaTetsu/116438917153980057): https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/koleje-dolnoslaskie-zastapia-polregio-na-trasie-glogow--zielona-gora--152732.html

#kolej #rail #CrossRegionRail #KolejeDolnoslaskie #Polregio #RegionalRail

Rynek Kolejowy also interviewed the CEO of the newly created Lubuski Transport Publiczny, the Lubusz Voivodeship's idea for a train and bus operating company. The headline and lead float the idea that they could get started with the Lubsko and Międzychód lines that are being reactivated, though the topic isn't really expanded on in the article itself - and the position of LTP's CEO seems to be that it is currently more important to get timetables on the existing lines into shape, with a mininum being 2 h Takt on the local lines and 1 h Takt on the main lines. They are aiming receive the necessary safety certification for running trains by the end of this year and carve out maintenance space somewhere in Czerwieńsk - whether they manage a deal to take over the existing facilities from PKP CargoTabor or not.

The subject of cross-border connections was also broached, with the interviewd guy noting that "particularly Cottbus […] is an unappreciated destination" (connections there are expected to improve if KD's plans materialize: https://mastodon.com.pl/@HaTetsu/116438917153980057): https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/lubuski-transport-publiczny-zacznie-od-tras-do-lubska-i-miedzychodu--143526.html

#kolej #LTP #Lubuskie #rail #RegionalRail #CrossBorderRail

No word on how they're going to fix their rolling stock woes ("need help"), but also opposes the restoration of the 4th railway package tender exception for local governments ordering from their own companies due to 1) uncertainty regarding the bailout settlement (as a reminder, Poland removed exceptions to the tendering requirement from its implementation of said EU law in exchange for being allowed to bail out Polregio with state budget money) and 2) the simple fact that it means Polregio is less likely to get more contracts.
There's some copium in there, but apparently the strategic aim right now is to get in-house repair facilities prepared for the major P4 and P5 level inspections and overhauls, so that they can undercut voivodeship railways on maintenance costs.

He also praised the people of company for their competence and drive, considering them the best surprise he found. Which is perhaps the best thing you can hope for in any huge organization :)

2/2

#kolej #rail #RegionalRail #Polregio

In an interview, the recently appointed CEO of Polregio advocates for unification of ownership under PKP SA (ie. for the central government to buy out all voivodeship shares in the company - currently, since the 2014 bailout, about half of the shares are owned by a state-owned holding company, while the rest is split between all voivodeships proportionally to their population - including Masovia, which doesn't use Polregio services at all), so that it may act as a counterpart to PKP Intercity focused on "eliminating transport exclusion" (ie. so that random local cross-voivodeship connections return to being served by a regional operator with regional rolling stock and not random TLK trains thrown into the national long-distance rail contract) and improve political control over railway policy: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/pawlowski-polregio-struktura-wlascicielska-do-zmiany-tabor-niezbedny-142272.html

1/2

#kolej #rail #RegionalRail #Polregio

Meanwhile, Kuyavia-Pomerania is bragging about having reached an agreement with Greater Poland to have 8 pairs of trains from Poznań extended to Kcynia, 6 of them onwards to Nakło nad Notecią in "2027". Could be 2027/8, but who knows, revitalized railway lines have been opening at various times of the year:
https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/kujawskopomorskie-pociagi-wroca-do-kcyni-w-2027-roku-136585.html

#kolej #RegionalRail #CrossRegionRail #KolejWielkopolskie #KujawskoPomorskie

Meanwhile in Polish regional rail, it looks like the government is working on removing the article adding an absolute requirement for voivodeships to put trains to tender when the IV railway package obligations come into force. As a reminder, this tighter requirement was added to its national implementation here in exchange for the EU allowing a bailout of Polregio a decade ago - with its removal, voivodeships would be allowed to hand lots over to their own companies - and about half of all voivodeships has one now, though not necessarily a working one yet - as allowed by the EU regulation.

Unsurprisingly, Allrail, the private passenger railway undertakings' organization, is rather unhappy about this, as it is with the short, one week, consultation period. Additionally, it remains unclear whether this was actually agreed with the Commission (though I doubt they'd stand in the way): https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/powierzenie-dla-przewoznikow-wojewodzkich-jednak-zostanie-allrail-nie-uchylajmy-tej-furtki-127642.html

#kolej #RegionalRail #rail #Poland

Kinda interesting day at Rynek Kolejowy today, here's some of the stories:
First, a reminder to those who don't dig into yearly timetables (that sorta includes me too) - trains will be replaced by buses from the March timetable change until the end of August between Jasło and Krosno in Subcarpathia. This is in addition to the existing closures further down the line to Zagórz and Ustrzyki, where the voivodeship opted to cancel the trains, arguing that the existing bus offer is sufficient and paying for train replacement buses would have been a waste of money: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/podkarpackie-autobusy-zastepcze-do-zagorza-to-niegospodarnosc--126399.html

1/

#kolej #pkp #podkarpackie #polregio #rail #RegionalRail

🚂✨ Wow, what an enlightening article on regional rail! Turns out it's the 403rd time the internet's favorite server, #nginx, decided to gatekeep its wisdom 🤖🚫. Clearly, the future of public transport is... still a secret! 🤦‍♂️🔒
https://www.hsrail.org/blog/caltrain-shows-why-every-region-should-be-moving-toward-regional-rail/ #regionalrail #publictransport #futureoftransport #technews #HackerNews #ngated

Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

https://www.hsrail.org/blog/caltrain-shows-why-every-region-should-be-moving-toward-regional-rail/

#HackerNews #Caltrain #RegionalRail #Transportation #Sustainability #PublicTransit

And in Polish railway bullshit, I keep finding new kinds of substandard timetables - like here in Żulin (I feel like I shouldn't find the name funny :/), a formerly full-blown station where the last train from Lublin was moved earlier this #RailwayNewYear and now departs 15:54 for a 16:40 departure onwards from there. After that, there's another Regio pair (and another train north on weekends and another IC south, but that wouldn't stop here no matter what) which passes this and one other halt nearby which is NOT a demand stop, but starts stopping everywhere from Krasnystaw.

#Lubelskie #Polregio #PKP #PLK #Kolej #RozkładJazdy #Timetable #RegionalRail

I like that headline: Podlachia: Another Declaration Of End Of Rolling Stock Issues

(It got bad enough that they were running short DMUs on mainline EMU routes. After they said they would have it all under control half a year ago)

https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/podlaskie-jest-kolejna-deklaracja-konca-problemow-taborowych--126033.html

#Kolej #Podlaskie #Polregio #rail #RegionalRail

Aaaaand apparently, the Lublin Voivodeship followed Lubusz in voting to set up their own train company - Lubelskie Koleje (surely that's an error, right? That's not how word order works in proper names in Polish) - today: https://www.lubelskie.pl/aktualnosci/xviii-sesja-sejmiku-wojewodztwa-lubelskiego-2/ (this is just an agenda link, I learned of it via SkyscraperCity but couldn't get the session recording myself, so this will have to do)

cc @smveerman

#Kolej #PolRegio #LubelskieKoleje #Rail #regionalRail #Lubelskie

In EMUs, SKMT probably has a clear advantage because a) they already run most of the EMU types Pomerania uses (not EN57AL and not Impuls 1, but there's probably a lot of similarities to others they do) and b) they are already at least stabling some of them, haven't tried tracking down more details but I think odds are they're somewhat familiar with them from the service side, too:
https://rail.phototrans.eu/14,150104,0.html (look for the light gray splotches on the rightmost tracks)

4/4

#rail #tender #PKP #SKMT #Polregio #Pomorskie #RegionalRail

Back in 2015 with the opening of the PKM line (https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linia_kolejowa_nr_248), SKMT was given the task of operating it using brand-new Pesa DMUs ordered by the voivodeship to go with it (which is also where they introduced the gray with red accents livery they use everywhere now and looks freaking ugly everywhere else imo) and, well, it turned out the company was unprepared for the task of servicing Diesel stock and quickly started subcontracting an increasing number of trains to Polregio until in 2018 the voivodeship decided to oficially hand the line to PR and let SKMT focus on its traditional Gdańsk-Wejherowo route.
On reflection, you could perhaps say that the Chojnice DMU works is kind of the crown jewel of Pomeranian Polregio right now, guaranteeing their position for the time being as anyone trying to serve the interior of the voivodeship would need to build an equivalent maintenance base on their own.

3/x

#rail #tender #PKP #SKMT #Polregio #Pomorskie #RegionalRail

To expand on the context a bit, there was no real competition for SKM services as those are still heavily reliant on SKMT's remodeled (and infamously non-air-conditioned) EN57AKM and EN71 units, leading to voivodeship-provided Impuls (and two refurbished EN57/71) units only making up 52% of the rolling stock needs.
Similarly, in the most-of-voivodeship DMU order, only two thirds of the stock was voivodeship-provided and SKMT has been burnt before regarding Diesel service and clearly recognizes the need to leverage their strengths if they are to successfully expand into a voivodeship railway

2/x

#rail #tender #PKP #SKMT #Polregio #Pomorskie #RegionalRail

In headline-ish form for the international audience: Pomeranian Voivodeship reveals offers in tender for 2027~2030 timetable years, SKMT unexpectedly bids and outbids Polregio for regional EMU lines by >150 mln PLN (~27% cheaper), Polregio prevails against challenge from Arriva on Malbork-Grudziądz, no competition for SKM and DMU services

https://platformazakupowa.pl/transakcja/1195109

cc @smveerman

#rail #tender #PKP #SKMT #Polregio #Pomorskie #RegionalRail

Some choice quotes from Rynek Kolejowy's interview with the voivodeship marshal (the top official of the local government) published today (https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/lubuskie-wlasny-przewoznik-i-co-dalej-125882.html):
"Those who are well-acquainted with the subject know that that which we have already done relative to when other local government companies were being founded is really, time-wise, a kind of TGV"
"The leadership at Polregio thinks we're a cow to milk for money and their expectations are the stuff of moon economics. Increases in the expected subsidy outpace inflation in the worst African countries. 140 million [PLN] last year, 168 million this year, and next year they want 220 million for similar work. In detailed breakdowns they also claim that they deserve 20 million PLN in compensation for last year extra, which I do not agree with at all. For what, I ask? For 5000 cancelled trains replaced with buses that we pay train rates for? […] Do you know what's the farebox recovery rate Polregio estimates for these services? 10 percent…"
"Q: And if you provided [another voivodeship railway] with some of the Diesel stock Polregio is currently using on your behalf?
A: It would be possible, if we and them both knew what state the rolling stock (25 units) we've provided to Polregio is in."

#kolej #lubuskie #rail #RegionalRail

America’s most-improved regional rail line

Twenty-five years or so of traveling to the Bay Area for work and for family have not left me in the habit of handing out compliments to rail transit there. Between the limited route maps of Bay Area Rapid Transit and Muni Metro and the horribly expensive construction costs of projects like San Francisco’s 1.7-mile, $1.6 billion Central Subway, public transport around the Bay has too often served first as a lesson to others.

More recently–especially since Google moved its I/O developer conference to Mountain View in 2016–I’ve gotten acquainted with and also unimpressed by Caltrain’s commuter-rail service on the peninsula, run with trains hauled by aging, loud and polluting diesel locomotives. But this week’s I/O trip introduced me to a reinvented rail line that the rest of the U.S. should envy.

Between last May and this May, Caltrain completed a lengthy modernization project to string electric wires over 51 miles of track from San Francisco to San Jose and buy electric-multiple-unit, double-decker trainsets from the Swiss manufacturer Stadler.

So instead of waiting for my ride south from Milbrae to groan its way up to speed on Monday night, this train (packed with Giants fans on their way home from that night’s game) quietly whooshed out of the station. That faster acceleration from every stop helped my entire trip from SFO to Mountain View, starting with BART from the airport, take less time than just last year’s Caltrain ride from Milbrae to Mountain View.

Bunking down in an Airbnb four blocks from that station for the next three nights provided another reminder of how much better electrified trains are: I didn’t hear the roar of diesel engines, leaving just train horns at the nearby grade crossings.

Less obvious but also appreciated: the immense drop in air pollution at and near stations as well as onboard train cars.

My return trip up the peninsula Thursday morning, one of four northbound departures from Mountain View between 8 and 9 a.m., was as great as the ride down. Other passengers seemed to agree about the usefulness of the service, with the train looking as crowded as Monday night’s. Caltrain’s fare date for April showed a more than 50 percent jump in ridership compared to a year ago, outpacing growth at every other transit agency in the region.

(Bonus: the fastest train WiFi I’ve enjoyed to date.)

Outside the U.S., this is not that special–fast, frequent, electric-hauled trains are the default for regional rail service across Europe. But in most of the States, the best you can get outside a subway’s service area is a diesel engine, hopefully built in the last 15 years, hauling passenger cars. This trip to the Bay Area reminded me that we don’t have to accept that level of sluggish, noisy and dirty service as good enough.

We can, however, do better than Caltrain in electrifying regional rail lines, since that organization wound up spending $2.44 billion on this upgrade. Delusional NIMBY lawsuits, Trump adminstration unhelpfulness, and the pandemic aren’t its fault, but Caltrain can’t blame anybody else for an unnecessarily conservative infrastructure design and a botched proprietary train-control effort. And it still needs to raise station platforms to train-door levels to speed boarding and alighting.

A recent report called Momentum, written by veteran NYC transit reporter Nolan Hicks for New York University’s Marron Institute of Urban Management, provides a must-read playbook for other transit organizations about how to avoid design mistakes like Caltrain’s and electrify and accelerate their routes at lower costs.

Commuter-rail managers should read it. And if they find themselves needing to head south of San Francisco on their next trip to the Bay Area, they should take a ride on a line that may make them feel bad about their own service.

#BART #BayArea #Caltrain #catenary #commuterRail #diesel #electricMultipleUnit #electricTrain #electrification #EMU #GoogleIO #Muni #overheadWire #pollution #regionalRail

‘“We believe additional [Sounder] trips would be supported by the public and would address ridership demand in 2036,” Saxe said. If we were to engage with BNSF on the possibility of adding new trips, we would continue to track ridership trends as well.”

Saxe added that Sounder capital projects uniquely qualify for Federal Railroad Administration grants and financing, unlike Sound Transit’s other modes. ' https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/06/15/sounder-south-frequency-boost/ #CommuterRail #RegionalRail #Sounder #Seattle #Tacoma @urbanistorg

The #KTMKomuter is a lifeline to many people in #Seremban who depend on it to go to #KLSentral and back

It used to take about 1⅔ hour to reach KL Sentral from Seremban and vice versa

The early morning express train service with limited stops take about 1⅓ hour

However, as of late, the train services had gone from bad to worse, with journey taking almost 2½ hours

Read more: https://thesun.my/opinion_news/too-much-inconvenience-for-tomorrow-s-comfort-FA11995426

#rail #railway #KTM #KTMB #heavyrail #regionalrail #commuterrail #regionaltrain #commutertrain

Commuters can enjoy #freerides on #KTMKomuter #train for two days on Jan 24 and 25 for #Thaipusam.

A total of 28 #stations will be operating on a #24hour basis from 23 to 26 Jan, and 72 additional #trains allocated.

Additional train services will also be implemented for #ETS service to ease travels between the north and central peninsula from Jan 24-26.

Read more: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/01/13/free-rides-on-ktm-komuter-for-thaipusam-trains-to-operate-around-the-clock

#rail #railway #commutertrain #commuterrail #regionaltrain #regionalrail #intercitytrain #intercityrail

Are you telling me #Philadelphia has a #crossrail tunnel for it's regional/commuter rail services, and uses it to have the trains just go to the "other" terminal before ending, and doesn't actually do through-running suburb-to-suburb lines?
#why? #SEPTA #RegionalRail #CommuterRail #trains #transit #RailTransit