UK: A rail-based ‘Northern Arc’ infrastructure and development programme could help Britain ‘move on from the embarrassment of High Speed 2’ and restore the country’s reputation as a world leader in railway construction, believes Greater Manchester elected mayor Andy Burnham.

NETHERLANDS: Public transport operators have signed an agreement to help balance demand on the heavily-loaded national power grid.

BULGARIA: Plans for a major restructuring of the national railway’s freight business BDZ Tovarnni Prevosi has been announced by Minister of Transport & Communications Grozdan Karadjov.

The first of 25 two-car AGT trainsets for the Sengkang-Punggol Light Rapid Transit network have been handed over to SBS Transit.

SPAIN: Trainline has agreed to acquire Barcelona-based online train and bus ticket retailer Trenes.com.

UK: HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Wild has set out his aim to reset the project over the course of the next year to ensure that a realistic cost and schedule can be maintained for the outstanding work on the high speed line.

AUSTRALIA: A stable pipeline of rail infrastructure projects is critical to Australia’s future economic growth and supporting growing cities and regions, Australasian Railway Association CEO Caroline Wilkie said after the incumbent Labor party led by Anthony Albanese won the May 3 election.

RUSSIA: Tramway operator Moskva Metro has awarded PK TS a contract to supply 100 four-axle fully low-floor single-section trams capable of 4 km of off-wire running at a speed of at least 20 km/h.

News from the world rail freight market.

Rail already plays a critical role in ensuring new cars can be moved out of automotive factories effectively. But many of these flows are short distance and driven by space limitations in auto plants, and rail struggles to compete with road for longer distance auto flows. Maria Eriksson* explains how ...

SPAIN: The Ministry of Transport & Sustainable Mobility has awarded a contract to study the viability of building a long-proposed a railway linking Málaga with the airport, the Costa del Sol resorts and Algeciras.

UK: The Secretary of State for Transport has issued an contract expiry notice confirming the date when train operator Greater Anglia is to be nationalised.

EUROPE: A joint working group is to bring together the British and Swiss governments and rail industry experts to examine how to overcome the commercial and technical barriers to launching a direct high speed train service between the countries.

USA: FreightCar America received orders for 1 250 wagons worth $141m during the quarter ended March 31 2025. It said this represents approximately 25% of all new wagons ordered in the quarter, and 36% of its addressable market, its largest market share in 15 years.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has purchased 640 km of trackage and disused alignments as it seeks to significantly expand passenger rail services. With funding in place for projects to 2030, Virginia Passenger Rail Authority Executive Director DJ Stadtler explains the strategy and progress so far to Benjámin Zelki.

GERMANY: The Land of Bayern has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply three Mireo Plus H hydrogen multiple-units to replace diesel trains on Südostbayernbahn services.

High Speed 2 should be rescoped to run from London Euston to Crewe, taking advantage of the lessons learned and supply chain foundations established during Phase 1, says Dyan Perry, Chair of the High Speed Rail Group.

SWEDEN: Transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has awarded Alstom a contract to support and develop digital systems on the Movia C20 and C30 metro trainsets it supplied for the Stockholm metro.

This week’s news from the global railway supply chain.

UK: The Office of Rail & Road is consulting on revising its Accessible Travel Policy guidance so that claims for redress when booked assistance fails disabled passengers are always considered on the circumstances in each case.