WestBahn orders 250 km/h Smile trains
AUSTRIA: Open access operator Westbahn has awarded Stadler a contract to supply three Smile high speed trainsets to enable it to introduce Wien – Graz – Klagenfurt – Villach services from March 2026.
Norwegian ERTMS programme makes steady progress
NORWAY: Infrastructure manager Bane Nor has successfully completed ‘the first 100 days of operation of ERTMS in Norway’, following the commissioning of the first series installation on the Roa – Gjøvik line in November 2024.
Freight sector says rail reforms need to offer investors more certainty
UK: The government’s rail reforms must provide more robust guarantees and stronger regulation so that freight operators have fair and economically viable access to the Great British Railways network and investors will be willing to look at the sector, politicians and industry representatives said at the Rail Freight Parliamentary Reception.
China: Metro sector prioritises extensions
Between the beginning of November 2024 and the early days of 2025, almost 600 km of new metro and suburban railway was put into service across 22 Chinese cities, but the focus is on expanding networks in cities where urban rail already exists. Toma Bačić and Andy Hellawell summarise the latest growth surge.
Class 175 DMUs to enter service with GWR this year
UK: The fleet of 10 two-car and 16 three-car Alstom Class 175 diesel multiple-units owned by Angel Trains and previously used by Transport for Wales until 2023 is to begin entering service with Great Western Railway in Devon and Cornwall later this year, with all expected to be operational from ...
Porto orders CRRC trams equipped for automatic operation
PORTUGAL: Metro do Porto has awarded CRRC Tangshan a contract to supply trams equipped for GoA2 attended automatic operation on the future Line H (Ruby).
Research centre to explore the use of AI and fare evasion in public transport
UK: Cubic Transportation Systems and experts from Imperial College London are to conduct joint research into the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the public transport sector.
