LE TRAIN PLANS OPENACCESS TGV SERVICES JUNE 2021 TODAY’S ISSUE 304 EUROPE RAILWAYS Stern & Ha erl Austria’s diverse local railway operator 40 years of NS Class 1600 DSB eet survey UK £5.95 Renewing the Berlin U-Bahn eet Interesting features and informative articles in every issue, including our regular sections every month……. www.platform5.com NEWS All the main operational news from around the UK. LIGHT RAIL NEWS SUBSCRIBE NOW TO... HERITAGE & PRESERVATION All the latest news from the world of heritage railways and preservation. ROLLING STOCK UPDATES RAILTOURS MAIL TRAIN GRUMPY OLD MAN! 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REGULARS 5 Headlights 6 Headline News CONTENTS French start-up proposes open-access TGV services, German plan to switch air passengers to rail, ČD orders 182 long-distance coaches. ISSN 1354 2753 Issue 304 June 2021 12 Light Rail News Paris Line T9 opens, South Korean-built trams Published by Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. Poland: Andrzej Harassek, Dr. Mike Bent en route to Warszawa, CAF trams ordered for 52 Broad eld Road, She eld, S8 0XJ, England. Portugal: Manuel Tão, Carlos Fonseca Lisboa Line 15. t: +44 (0)114-255-2625 f: +44 (0)114-255-2471 Romania: Chris Bailey 16 Mail Train Russia: Toma Bačić EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES & CONTRIBUTIONS: Serbia/Montenegro: Toma Bačić 46 News Round Up Keith Barrow, Today’s Railways, 74 Raymond Road, Slovenia: Toma Bačić RailAdventure acquires stake in Railexperts, Redruth, TR15 2HF, England. Spain: Dr. Mike Bent t: +44 (0) 77 39 73 76 33 (O ce hours only) Sweden: Frank Edgar, Philip Groves SNCF Infra modernises its loco eet, FlixTrain e: [email protected] Switzerland: Christian Ammann, Sylvain Meillasson launches Göteborg–Stockholm services. Consultants: David Haydock, Brian Garvin, 62 Heritage News Please do not send editorial matter or letters for Nick Lawford publication to the She eld address. Dutch heritage DMU on HSL-Zuid “rust busting” Publisher: Andrew Dyson SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES: duties, RhB diesel shunters preserved. Editor: Keith Barrow Platform 5 Publishing Ltd., 65 Traction Archive Assistant Editor: Alan Yearsley, BA (Hons), MBS, MILT 52 Broad eld Road, She eld, S8 0XJ, England. e: [email protected] t: +44 (0)114-255-8000 f: +44 (0)114-255-2471 e: [email protected] REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: FEATURES Austria: Daniel Martin, Roland Beier NEWS TRADE DISTRIBUTION: 18 DSB: major eet changes Baltic States: Toma Bačić Select Publisher Services Ltd., Belgium: Carlo Hertogs 3 East Avenue, Bournemouth, BH3 7BW. on the horizon Bosnia-Herzegovina: Toma Bačić t: 01202 586848 With Danish State Railways in the midst of a Bulgaria: Chris Bailey (e: [email protected]) major rolling stock renewal programme, Jan Croatia: Toma Bačić DISTRIBUTION TO NONNEWS TRADE OUTLETS: Lundstrøm presents a class-by-class review of Czech Republic/Slovakia: Michal Málek Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. Denmark: Jan Lundstrøm the operator’s eet. 52 Broad eld Road, She eld, S8 0XJ, England. Finland: Juhani Pirttilahti 24 NS Class 1600 and 1700: 40 years of the France: David Haydock, Bernard Collardey, PRINTED BY: Dutch “Broken Noses” Laurent Charlier Buxton Press Ltd., Germany: Volker Kubrak, Keith Fender Quintus Vosman charts the history of the Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire. SK17 6AE. Greece: Nick Fotis versatile French-designed Bo-Bos. Hungary: Ferenc Joó © Platform 5 Publishing Ltd, 2021. All rights reserved. 34 Stern & Ha erl: Lokalbahn variety in Italy: Marco Cacozza No part of this publication may be reproduced or Oberösterreich Luxembourg: Stojan Mihajlovic transmitted by any means or in any form (mechanical, Netherlands: Richard Latten electronic, photocopying, or otherwise) without prior Roland Beier pro les the operations and North Macedonia: Toma Bačić written permission from the Publisher. Circular ags diverse eet of this Austrian company. Norway: Peter Kloss designed by Freepik. 40 Modernising the Berlin U-Bahn eet Keith Fender looks at the variety of U-Bahn train types in use in the German capital, most TODAY’S RAILWAYS EUROPE is normally published on the fourth Monday of each month. of which will soon be replaced by new stock. This issue on sale 24 May. Next issue on sale 28 June. Follow us on social media: Front cover: Stern & Ha erl (StH) Vectron DE 247 905 has recently been a regular performer on @TodaysRailways1 the Aschach–Wels line. However, with new Vectron Dual Mode locos on order, the operator has @TodaysRailwaysEurope decided to sell its only diesel Vectron (see p55) and the loco was handed over to new owner Bahnbau Wels in April. On 30 March 2021, its nal day in service with StH, 247 905 rounds the horseshoe curve on the approach to Haiding station with a train from Aschach. Roland Beier SUBSCRIBE TODAY! See page 67 for details. Below: A colourful contrast in Lok 2000 liveries near Spiezmoos between Thun and Spiez on 23 April 2021 as BLS Re 465 011 and 015 leading train 41604 Genova Marittima–Frenkendorf- Füllinsdorf meet SBB Re 460 072 propelling train IC 1075 Basel SBB–Brig. Peter Hürzeler TRANSPORT BOOKS FROM PLATFORM 5 MAIL ORDER The new fth edition of Diesel & Electric Loco Register contains a complete list of all diesel and electric locomotives operated by British Railways, its constituents and successors, that have been capable of working on the main line railway network, including shunters and departmental locomotives. Detailed entries give up-to-date information on the current status of every locomotive, showing