Our latest magazine is here!
We are publishing this digital magazine having only recently heard the news that there will be no InnoTrans in April 2021. Instead, InnoTrans will take place again in September 2022. The InnoTrans organisers explained their decision saying there was not enough planning security to go ahead with the show and that they had made this decision in close communication with key players. The news sits amid steep rises in recorded coronavirus cases in Germany – the home of InnoTrans – and internationally, leading to renewed lockdown measures.
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One of the events that did take place for InnoTrans 2020 was its Convention, which went digital for the first time. And one of the areas of discussion was focused on restoring passenger confidence in rail travel during this pandemic. A study conducted by the Charité hospital in Berlin found there was no increased risk of catching the coronavirus on trains, but it is the perceived sense of safety that needs to be bolstered among passengers.
The other central theme was around climate change. Digitalising our railways, researching alternative traction power, moving forward with digital automatic coupling and digital interlocking, rolling out ETCS to increase capacity and help drive modal shift are all key towards bringing about a mobility that is better for our planet.
The plea from German transport minister to the rail industry was clear: we’ve got the money – you need to do the work.
In this issue you can hear the voices of major industry players, from Stadler, Alstom, Siemens Mobility, the German Railway Industry Association VDB, and representatives from SMEs.
Whether or not railway exhibitions will be able to go ahead next year remains uncertain. More and more events now have digital capabilities, allowing us to stay in touch. And we too will do our bit to promote the voice of the rail industry digitally – the only certain avenue there is at the moment!
We are publishing our first issue of 2021 in March. If you would like to be represented in our magazine or on our website, please contact Andrew Lush at [email protected]
Deutsche Bahn, the federal government and the state governments will invest a total of 12.7 billion euros in Germany's rail network in 2021.
Stadler Deutschland has contracted Knorr-Bremse to supply the braking, entrance and HVAC systems for the new Berlin metro vehicles.
Following an 8.5 million GBP investment at its site in Newton Aycliffe, Hitachi Rail has started welding and painting UK passenger cars.
Transport for London and Siemens Mobility have unveiled the detailed design for the new trains for the London Underground Piccadilly line.
Webuild has been chosen as the best bidder for a Brenner Base Tunnel rail extension project. It will be the majority leader in a consortium.
The contract for the construction of the Rail Baltica Riga International Airport station and associated infrastructure has been signed.
Transport for New South Wales has extended Network Rail Consulting's digital systems integration contract until 2024.
Deutsche Bahn and SCNF have signed a cooperation agreement on digitalisation and technology to help drive ahead the European rail sector.
Railway staff in Britain are receiving disability awareness and equality training as part of requirements in the ORR accessibility guidance.
The USDOT and DART have agreed a refinancing of a $908 million loan for the Silver Line that will save DART $190 million in interest payments.
Hitachi Rail is to deploy its ERTMS technology on 140km of the Malmbanen line in Sweden, a single-track line that crosses the Arctic Circle.
Collins Earthworks has completed the preparation of the HS2 site in Warwickshire in readiness for tunnelling to start this summer.
ARCT has awarded a 30 million AUD signalling contract to Arcadis for the Inland Rail freight project that will connect Melbourne to Brisbane.
Private Swiss train operator BLS says it is putting in place immediate measures after the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) discovered unus...
MSC launches a new rail freight connection between Antwerp and Terminal Wien Süd, one of Austrian Federal Railways' terminals in Vienna.
Czech rolling stock manufacturer CZ LOKO has sold an EffiShunter 1000 shunting locomotive to Trainpoint Norway. It will be delivered in 2021.
The European Commission has officially proposed the successor to Shift2Rail – Europe's Rail JU – to the European Council and Parliament.
Network Rail completes the Southampton Freight Train Lengthening project, allowing freight trains of up to 775m to Southampton.
Transfesa Logistics has added regular weekly services to Dourges, France to its portfolio and is hoping to expand the number of services.
Austrian Federal Railways and Siemens Mobility have unveiled the exterior design of the new generation of Nightjet trains in Vienna.
Alstom has completed the installation of its interlocking system on 328km of the mainline railway between Eskisehir and Balikesir in Turkey.
Downer EDI has won the contract to upgrade stations on the Bankstown Line, which will become part of the Sydney Metro network.
EMR is retiring its fleet of InterCity 125 trains, comprising Class 43 power cars and Mark 3 coaches, in May 2021.
HS2 Ltd has started its search for a contractor to build the rolling stock depot and control centre at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.
Deutsche Bahn's head of digitalisation and technology, Prof. Sabina Jeschke, is leaving the railway company in May 2021.
CZ LOKO has won a contract with Poland's national carrier for long-distance services, PKP Intercity, for 10 EffiShunter 300 locomotives.
Škoda Transportation has won a contract to supply 24 trams to two towns and a city in Germany's federal state of Brandenburg.
Germany has suffered some severe winter weather in February, with heavy snowfall across much of the country, affecting the railway too.
HS2 Ltd has revealed the design of the Euston tunnel headhouse that will sit alongside the West Coast Main Line in London.
The Route 2020 metro line in Dubai, United Arab Emirates has entered revenue service. It connects Jabal Ali Station with the World Expo site.
Alstom has completed a further section of the 240km Beni Suef-Asyut railway line in Egypt. 100km of the line are now commissioned.
Tottenham Court Road station has reached a major milestone: works are sufficiently progressed for final commissioning activities to begin.
Coca-Cola is partnering with DB Cargo to transport its goods for all long-distance journeys in Germany to become a greener business.
HS2 Phase 2a, connecting the high-speed line from London to Crewe via Birmingham, has received royal assent in parliament.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has issued its revised draft business plan, which will go to the California Legislature in April.
Network Rail to begin works at London King's Cross station at the end of February as part of the 1.2 billion GBP East Coast Main Line.
The University of Extremadura in Spain will work with Talgo to develop the visual identity of the TPH2 hydrogen test train.
The first of 270 Bombardier Electrostars has been overhauled and returned to passenger service for train operator Govia Thameslink Railway.
Skoda Transporation has won a contract to supply six electric multiple units (EMUs) to Estonia, to be delivered by the end of 2024.
Following its annoucement of this plan in October 2020 the Welsh government has now taken the Wales & Borders franchise into public ownership.
The German government will provide more financial assistance to businesses wishing to connect their facilities to the rail network.
Finland's state railway company VR Group has started producing energy. It has installed solar panels on Pendolino Hall at its Helsinki depot.
HS2 has revealed its final design for the headhouse and vent shaft at Chalfont St Giles which will provide ventilation to the Chiltern tunnel.
Talgo has started the dynamic testing of its very high-speed train, the Talgo Avril. All 30 units will go to Spain's national operator Renfe.
TMH has shipped two shunting locomotives, type TEM18DM, to Mongolia. TMH signed the contract with Ulaanbaatar Railway in 2019.
CAF will supply four 4-car electric multiple units to Euskotren over the next two years in a contract worth almost 32 million euros.
Albanian State Railways has signed a contract for the rehabilitation of the Durrës-Tirana line and the construction of a new 5.7km line.
The rail link to Bucharest's airport is complete. There is a new station at T1, connecting passengers to the city centre in 20 minutes.
The US Senate has confirmed Pete Buttigieg as Secretary of Transportation in the Biden Administration, with 83 votes in favour, 13 against.
Alstom is to equip 13 DB Cargo locomotives, type EG3100, with its ETCS solution. They will operate in Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
Siemens Mobility will supply 31 regional trains for the passenger network in Bavaria. The order comprises 25 Desiro HC and 6 Mireo trainsets.
Amtrak Midwest has been testing the new Siemens Mobility Venture railcars, which are being manufactured in Sacramento, California.
Hitachi Rail has successfully trialled its first battery-powered tram in Italy. Battery-powered trams can make do without overhead lines.
On 29 January 2021 Alstom has completed the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation with a combined order backlog of 71.1 billion euros.
Network Rail has announced Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) works to take place in the first two weeks of August.
The Voice of European Railways (CER) says railways in the EU27 made losses of 26 billion euros in 2020 because of COVID-19.
Comments in the Commissioner's report stating the government is exploring cutting down platform numbers at HS2 Euston have sparked concern.
Avlo, Renfe's new low-cost high-speed passenger service that will run between Madrid and Barcelona, will launch on 23 June 2021.
The first of five headhouses that will provide ventilation and emergency access to the HS2 Chiltern tunnel has gained planning approval.
Network Rail and Alstom have signed a two-year framework contract for the supply of CLever cantilevers to electrify railway lines in the UK.
Bombardier Transportation says it will increase its production capacity and hire up to 180 new employees at its facility in Bruges, Belgium.
Amtrak's CEO has written to Congress outlining the passenger railroad's five key demands to recover from COVID and expand services.
The designs for the HS2 viaducts at Water Orton in Warwickshire have been unveiled following a public consultation in spring 2020.
Marseille and Alstom have revealed the finalised metro design for the new rolling stock that will be deployed in the city from 2023.
The government has awarded 760 million GBP in funding for the construction of East West Rail between Bicester and Bletchley.
The first of five high-speed trains, an Alstom Pendolino ETR470, has arrived in Greece. It will start carrying passengers in March 2021.
French transport minister confirms to the National Assembly that France would make sure it supported Eurostar and was in talks with Britain.
Railway Division Virtual Annual Luncheon 2021: Celebrate and network with senior railway industry colleagues on 5th March.
IMechE's Young Engineers and Apprentices Railway Seminar: A New Era in Rail will take place on 28th and 29th January 2021.
Stalder has delivered the first of 12 Citylink tram-trains to Hungary where they will start serving Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely from Q4 2021.
Alstom has won the contract to provide the signalling, train control and telecommunications systems for the Delhi-Meerut railway line, India.
The CAF-Bombardier consortium has been chosen as the preferred bidder to supply 146 double-decker MI20 trains for RER Line B in Paris.
Bombardier Transportation's joint venture in China, BST, has won a contract to provide maintenance services for 280 high-speed train cars.
Siemens Mobility has won its biggest-ever service contract from Deutsche Bahn. It is to revise 40 ICE 4 trains, with an option for 50 more.
There are renewed calls on the UK government to provide support to Eurostar to prevent Britain's only international rail link from folding.
RailTech Europe 2021 (March 30 – April 1): ProMedia Group has opened registration for RailTech Europe 2021 and announced its first speakers.
Following clearance from the European Commission, the German transport ministry is funding ERTMS for rolling stock for the first time.
Bombardier will overhaul 143 first-generation double-decker TWINDEXX coaches for Israel Railways, including modernising the doors.
The European Commission has published the 7th monitoring report (2015–2018) on the development of the rail market in the EU.
Siemens Mobility has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of 1,000km of high-speed rail lines in Egypt.
Stadler has signed a framework agreement with Austrian Federal Railways for up to 20 fire-fighting and rescue trains.
Ballard Power Systems announces order from Arcola Energy for modules to power Scotland’s first fuel cell-powered train.
Bombardier has signed a contract with SNCF for three additional OMNEO Regio 2N trains for the Île-de-France region (Paris).
Alstom's Citadis X05 trams have started carry passengers on the South Circular section of the Circular light rail line in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
BNSF and Wabtec are testing a battery-electric locomotive between Barstow and Stockton (CA) to test the viability of battery technology.
Network Rail and its partners have launched the tram train pilot learning hub, a "comprehensive body of learning" that is free to access.
A look at Edmonton's Valley Line Southeast, which is due to open in 2021. 2021 will also see the start of phase 2 construction.
Stadler will supply eight electric multiple units for the Centovalli railway between Switzerland and Italy starting in 2023.
During the Christmas closure of London King's Cross, Network Rail engineers lifted all four tracks going into the station to divert a sewer.
A look at three rail line extensions that will open in the United States in 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Seattle, and the Boston area.
Colorado Pacific Railroad will challenge a deal between Union Pacific and Rio Grande Pacific to run rail services on the Tennessee Pass Line.
Bombardier will supply 33 OMNEO Regio 2N double-decker trains to SNCF for the Hauts-de-France region. Delivery will begin in 2024.
Alstom has deployed its ground-charging technology for the Eminonu-Alibeykoy tramway in Istanbul, Turkey, 9km of which opened on 1 Jan 2021.
Bombardier will maintain the rail vehicle fleet and wayside track and overhead line assets for a Toronto light rail project for 30 years.
Alstom has completed the first test run for the Mostaganem tramway project in Algeria. The rolling stock for the 14km line is the Citadis.
Skoda Transportation will deliver a further 79 low-floor RegioPanter electric multiple units to Czech Railways (České dráhy) over four years.
TransLink has ordered 205 rail cars – 41 five-car metro trains – for Vancouver's SkyTrain from manufacturer Bombardier Transportation.
The new S-Bahn trains for Berlin, built by a Stadler-Siemens Mobility consortium, will enter passenger service on the city's Ringbahn line.
Bombardier has completed the first ZEFIRO Express for Västtrafik. The high-speed train will now undergo testing and commissioning.
Alstom has won a contract with Toulouse Metropole to supply systems for the Toulouse Aerospace Express metro line, including rolling stock.
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