Portugal's cutbacks halt high-speed train to Spain

 

The Portuguese austerity plan presented by Pedro Passos Coelho's conservative government last week is not to Spain's liking. It was particularly irked by the announcement that construction on the high-speed railway project between Madrid and Lisbon would be "suspended". The high-speed train would have connected the two capital cities in two hours and 45 minutes by 2013, instead of nine hours at present.

While conservative opposition to the project has regularly postponed work on the Portuguese side, work is well under way in Spain. Nearly €800m ($1.6bn) in public money has already been paid out from the total €3.8bn cost of the Spanish segment of the line.

Although the former Portuguese prime minister, Socialist José Sócrates, had made it a priority during his mandate, in the past two years the Portuguese track (estimated cost €3.3bn) has been facing vetoes from the centre-right opposition, which has criticised the high cost of the project at a time when the public deficit (9.3% of GDP) calls for austerity measures.

In exchange for a €78bn European bailout plan, the Social Democratic party (PSD), voted in on 6 June, has committed itself to a number of measures and reforms to reduce the public deficit to 3% of GDP by 2013. But Passos Coelho, who has boasted that he will exceed the austerity targets agreed in the EU-IMF bailout, has added objectives that weren't on the cards, including the postponement of the Iberian high-speed line.

In Spain, that Portuguese zeal is not appreciated. The Spanish transportation minister, José Blanco López, has described the Portuguese decision as a "bad" one and reminded his neighbour that "the project has obtained European financing". Madrid fears that the European funds allocated to the railway will be scaled down if the Portuguese decide to pull out permanently. To press his point, Blanco has asked to meet his Portuguese counterpart at the earliest opportunity.

In the Spanish regions that were to be covered by the high-speed train, there is concern about the local repercussions in terms of jobs and tourism, although according to the president of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, "this decision won't affect the Spanish end of the line".

Last week, the Portuguese prime minister announced that further budget cuts would be put before parliament.

source: guardian

KTX to Connect Yeosu and Seoul by September

 

The KTX bullet train service will be extended to Yeosu, South Jeolla Province by the end of September, ahead of the 2012 Yeosu World Expo.
An official at the Yeosu World Expo Organizing Committee said visitors to the expo will find the service convenient since Yeosu Station is just a five-minute walk from the expo grounds. The KTX Sancheon high-speed train will ferry passengers from Seoul to Yeosu and back.
The bullet train will shorten travel time from five hours and 13 minutes to three hours and 20 minutes.

source: chosun

Bombardier’s newest train enters service with Chiltern Railways

 

The latest train to roll off Bombardier’s Derby production line has entered passenger service with Chiltern Railways, the first new commuter trains on the route for two decades.

The four two-car class 172s have been well received by passengers and staff alike.

The Chiltern four, which are the cleanest diesel trains in the country, will be followed later this summer by London Midland’s class 172s, enabling older diesel units to be replaced in the West Midlands.

Currently the new trains run three trips a day but this will increase once Chiltern’s new timetable comes into force during September.

This will coincide with a whole host of improvements including a new through line at Princes Risborough, allowing fast trains to overtake stopping services.

Introduction of the class 172s allows Chiltern to free up capacity and strengthen some of its busy services.

source: www.rail.co

High speed ‘ghost train’ cancelled in Spain

 

Spain’s state controlled rail operator Renfe has cancelled its high speed service that connects Toledo with the cities of Albacete and Cuenca.
The route began operations last December but was taken out of operation last Friday (1st July) due to lack of passenger demand.
Enrique Urkijo, the Director General for Passengers at Renfe called the service a ‘ghost train’.
Only 9 passengers on average use the route daily, Urkijo said last Monday; “Renfe feels the pain when we only transport steel”.
The route ‘works like a shot’ but costs €18,000 a day to operate and has transported just 2796 users in 6 months.
The Toledo to Albacete/Cuenca route was launched after demand from the Mayors of the towns, who said it would benefit their cities greatly.
Renfe have now decided to focus on services between Toledo and Madrid to ‘suit the actual demand for the corridor’.
Passengers who previously travelled on the now cancelled route will have to change trains in Madrid, increasing their journey time by around 25 minutes.

source: www.rail.co

Etihad Airways signs deal with French railway

 

Etihad Airways has signed a commercial agreement with French national railways SNCF.
The deal will allow Etihad passengers to book flights beyond Paris Charles de Gaulle airport by connecting onward to SNCF’s 2,000 km high-speed rail routes, and vice-versa, the carrier stated in a release.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer said: ‘We’ve just gone double daily to Paris, and combined with this exciting new codeshare with SNCF, it illustrates Etihad’s growing commitment to passengers traveling to and from France.’
The seamless air-rail connections comprise 20 cities in France including Bordeaux, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg.

source: News One