A rail-first reset for Switzerland’s long-term transport policy
Switzerland’s government has unveiled the strategic framework for Transport ’45, a long-term plan to shape the country’s rail, road and urban transport networks through to 2045. Although branded as intermodal, Transport ’45 is fundamentally a rail-first plan, prioritising capacity and frequency while cutting back on weaker projects. Here’s how the two-decade plan breaks down. Switzerland’s […]
How a Portuguese AI-pioneering software company capitalises on increasingly complex railways
Founded by two Portuguese engineers, the Lisbon-based SISCOG is considered a pioneer in the adoption of artificial intelligence for transport optimisation, dispatching trains across Europe for 40 years. In an interview with RailTech, CEO Miguel Velosa Rodrigues talks about the journey of changing ownership last year to a Canadian conglomerate and an increasingly complex railway […]
Not trains, but vans are set to revive France’s abandoned railway tracks
Rusty rails will soon meet high-tech innovation: abandoned tracks in the Auvergne region of France will see a surprising newcomer next month: electric vans that work like an Uber: you order it on your phone, and it brings you from A to B, even running autonomously on the rails. Could this be a solution to […]
Latvia’s Rail Baltica chief expects 3-5 year delay of the first phase
The first phase of Rail Baltica will face a delay of three to five years, according to Maris Dzelme, board. chairman of Latvia’s project’s manager, Eiropas Dzelzcela Linijas (EDzL). The high-speed railway set to link the Baltic states to Poland and the wider EU in 1,435 mm gauge is undergoing a redesign to try to […]
On-board ETCS in 10 days? Alstom upgrades 100th train in Norway’s ERTMS fleet retrofit
Alstom this week marked the upgrade of its 100th ERTMS-equipped train in Norway, saying the milestone showed just “how far we have come” in one of Europe’s most ambitious digital signalling programmes. A big part of getting there is sheer delivery speed: according to Bane NOR, Alstom’s on-board ETCS retrofit time is now around ten […]
UK MPs vote down plan to force GBR into rolling rail electrification
UK parliament has rejected a proposed amendment to the Railways Bill that would have required Great British Railways (GBR) to commit to a rolling programme of rail electrification, with the government arguing it was “not the right way” to set electrification policy. That has reignited criticism of the UK’s stop–start approach to decarbonising its rail […]
Spain approves €20m aid package for train crash victims
Spain’s government has approved a €20 million compensation package for victims of the January train crashes in Adamuz in Córdoba and Gelida in Catalonia, moving to accelerate payouts as investigations into infrastructure failures continue and disruption persists on Catalonia’s Rodalies commuter rail network. Subscribe to gain access to all news Already have a subscription? Log […]
Polregio launches tender for 22 new EMUs, targeting 2028 launch |
Poland’s largest regional rail operator, Polregio, has launched a tender for up to 22 new electric multiple units (EMUs), marking its biggest order for factory-new rolling stock in many years, “a prerequisite for effectively competing in the liberalising rail transport market” The procurement covers six EMUs under a base contract, with a further 16 units […]
‘If Europe pauses now, a decade of rail investment could go to waste’: UNIFE chief
UNIFE Director General Enno Wiebe has warned that Europe risks surrendering its global rail technology advantage unless EU policymakers commit to a successor programme to Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking. Speaking just weeks ahead of his appearance at RailTech Europe, where funding and delivery trade-offs will be high on the agenda, Wiebe warned that “pausing now […]
Russian drone strike on Ukraine passenger train kills five
A Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian passenger train in the Kharkiv region has killed five people, Ukrainian prosecutors said, in an attack President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced as terrorism and a direct blow to ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war. The strike occurred on Tuesday on a passenger service running from Chop, near Ukraine’s […]