‘If it takes 45 days, we will lose the war’: CER warns faster train planning needed to support military mobility
EUROPE: The difficulty in arranging short term paths for cross-border rail traffic is putting rail’s role in military mobility at risk, CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola has warned.
Hitachi Rail awarded €480m Torino Metro Line 2 contract
ITALY: Torino metro project promoter Infra.TO has awarded Hitachi Rail a contract to design and supply driverless trains and signalling systems for the future metro Line 2.
‘Thoroughly positive’ results from digital automatic coupler testing in winter conditions
AUSTRIA: ÖBB Rail Cargo Group has undertaken endurance testing with its digital automatic coupler demonstrator train in winter conditions including temperatures down to -15°C, freezing rain and fresh snow
Slovenian infrastructure manager orders maintenance vehicles
SLOVENIA: Rail infrastructure manager SŽ-Infrastruktura has awarded Tesmec Rail two contracts totalling €71m for the supply 21 maintenance vehicles.
World rail freight news round-up
Business news from the world rail freight market.
Train operators call on innovators to solve four challenges
UK: The latest round of the Future Labs innovation programme is seeking proposals to address four challenges faced by train operators.
Comment: Time for a shorter wishlist
European rail advocates remain staunchly committed to a raft of ambitious and complex policy priorities ranging from ticketing reform to 5G telecoms, but the current political reality means accepting that not all can be delivered, argues our Executive Editor Nick Kingsley.
China: ‘Eight by eight’ network nears completion with latest wave of openings
High speed line construction in China continued unabated during 2025, and the country now has more than 50 000 route-km in operation, while a further 10 000 km is envisaged for completion in the next five-year plan period. Toma Bačić investigates.
Rhätische Bahn makes plans to handle significant traffic growth
SWITZERLAND: Rhätische Bahn is planning fleet replacements and infrastructure upgrades to equip it to handle fast-increasing leisure traffic on the highly scenic Bernina line.
DB Cargo UK reorganises management team around four areas of focus
UK: DB Cargo UK has reorganised its senior management team, with CEO Andrea Rossi saying the changes would ‘strengthen accountability and ensure we are set up to continue to deliver best in class services’.
Trackbot ready to work on live ETCS installation
NETHERLANDS: The partly-automated Trackbot machine developed to speed up ETCS installation is now ready to begin working on live signalling schemes, according to Strukton Rail.
