ESTONIA: The government has formally launched a two-stage process to privatise national rail freight operator Operail.

ROMANIA: Railway reform authority ARF has confirmed Pesa Bydgoszcz as the winner of a contract to supply 20 electric multiple-units for InterRegio services, after a court required a review of the bids following an appeal by Alstom.

A report by the Aviation Studies Institute of Singapore University of Technology & Design recommends replacing short-haul air routes by high speed lines in southeast Asia to improve sustainability. It also finds that airport-rail links in the region are less common than elsewhere and that better rail connectivity would yield ...

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

UK: A Railway Engineering Degree Apprenticeship has been launched by a partnership of the University of South Wales, the Welsh government, Coleg Y Cymoedd and Transport for Wales.

FRANCE: High speed rail start-up Proxima has announced a €1bn plan backed by investor Antin Infrastructure Partners to acquire 12 Alstom trainsets and launch open access services from Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes and Angers to Paris.

INTERNATIONAL: ‘Beware of trains. Life can change in a split second’ is the slogan for the 16th International Level Crossing Awareness Day, which this year has a particular emphasis on the safety of vulnerable people.

KENYA: Kenya Railways has launched its strategic plan for 2023-27, setting out a medium-term policy, legal, institutional and regulatory framework to transform itself into the ’leading transport service provider in the region’.

European policymakers and the larger rail freight operators are confident that the Digital Automatic Coupler programme can move from vision to reality by 2028. Nevertheless, significant financial and logistical barriers remain. Toma Bačić reports.

ASIA: The Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway has re-opened for freight traffic following a year-long maintenance and rebuilding programme on the Georgian section of the line.

UK: A Liverpool – Manchester Railway Board has been launched by the two cities’ metro mayors and other stakeholders to lead the development of proposals for a high speed line between the conurbations.

UK: ‘Britain should never have to buy a diesel passenger train again’, said Sambit Banerjee, Joint CEO of Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland, when the company set out a case for ordering battery-electric trainsets which would use electrification where available and battery power on non-electrified tracks.

INDIA: Track machine supplier Plasser India and the Ministry of Railways-funded Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya University in Vadodara have signed a memorandum of understanding.

With limited progress being made on the planned new line between Praha and Dresden, Czech infrastructure manager Správa Železnic is taking forward an initial section of high speed line in the east as part of plans to develop a 400 route-km high-performance backbone. SŽ’s Deputy Director for High Speed Lines ...

JAPAN: The increasing use of high speed passenger trains to carry light freight was highlighted by a fair at Tokyo station on May 17 where products now being transported to the capital by Shinkansen were available for purchase.

FRANCE: Start-up Midnight Trains has abandoned its ambitious plan to develop a network of premium overnight trains offering hotel-standard accommodation on European routes of up to 1 500 km from Paris, after being unable to raise the necessary funding.

ITALY: Funding for the purchase of hydrogen and hydrogen-electric regional trainsets has been announced by the Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport.

UK: ‘Open access operators like these will play a role in the future of our railways under Labour’, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said when she officially opened Hull Trains’ Learning & Development Academy.

BRAZIL: São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas and State Deputy Dirceu Dalben signed the long-awaited contract with the Brazilian-Chinese C2 Mobilidade sobre Trilhos Consortium for the Trem Intercidades Eixo Norte in Campinas on June 3.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Multimodal Inland Port Association has been formed to act as a unified voice advocating for freight modal shift from road to rail.