UK: The prototype 08e battery locomotive which Positive Traction has produced by rebuilding a 1950s Class 08 diesel shunter has successfully completed two weeks of trials with Mendip Rail at Heidelberg Materials’ Whatley Quarry in Somerset.

While its planned high speed services linking Bordeaux with Rennes and Nantes are still in gestation, French new entrant Le Train believes it can establish itself as the largest private operator in an increasingly crowded domestic market. CEO Alain Getraud and Deputy Chief Executive Catherine Pihan-Le Bars explain their vision ...

GERMANY: Work to electrify the 164 km line through the Eifel region between Hürth-Kalscheuren near Köln and Trier-Ehrang was launched with a ceremony in Kyllburg on October 28.

INDIA: Spain’s Ministry of Transport & Sustainable Mobility has signed a memorandum of understanding to support Indian Railways in developing and upgrading its network.

SOUTH KOREA: Korea Railroad Research Institute is preparing to extend its R&D programme which aims to introduce direct train-to-train communication and position reporting to replace centralised traffic control.

UK: Funding for the construction of the High Speed 2 tunnels from Old Oak Common to London Euston, and commitments to the ongoing Transpennine Route Upgrade and to take East West Rail to Cambridge were included in the budget presented by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves on October 30.

CHILE: National railway EFE Trenes de Chile has awarded Alstom a €55m contract for the deployment of the Virtual Signalling Control digital traffic management tool.

EUROPE: A ‘Railway Erasmus’ scheme providing people undertaking railway-related studies, apprenticeships or internships with an opportunity to experience other countries is among the recommendations of the final report of the Skill Training Alliance For the Future European Rail System project.

EUROPE: A ‘groundbreaking’ concept for high-capacity overnight trains has been unveiled by Škoda Group. Developed by designers in the Austrian arm of the company, the ‘Sleep in Motion’ proposal features a double-deck coach with pairs of single-berth cubicles stacked one above the other on each side of a central corridor ...

CHINA: The 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on October 1 saw three days of public holidays marked by the opening of several high speed lines.

MOROCCO: National railway ONCF has awarded Vossloh two contracts to supply track components for the construction of a 320 km/h high speed line between Casablanca and Marrakech.

UK: Great British Railways will provide a ‘cultural reset’ where ‘every part of the workforce feels empowered to challenge the orthodoxy of years past, supported by an entirely new and reformed organisation’, according to Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh, who emphasised it ‘will not be British Rail Rebooted ...

SPAIN: Basque steelmaking company Sidenor has expressed interest in the total or partial acquisition of rolling stock manufacturer Talgo

SWITZERLAND: Stadler Signalling and Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn signed a partnership agreement on October 16 covering modernisation of the railway’s signalling using Stadler’s Eurolocking signal and train control.

UK: Northern has worked with data scientists to calculate the most fuel efficient way of driving its diesel multiple-units while keeping to time.

NORWAY: The Ministry of Transport has asked railway agency Jernbanedirektoratet to directly award state operator Vy an interim contract to run Lot 1 Sør passenger services for up to five years from the expiry of the current contract with Go-Ahead Group in December 2027.

USA: Dallas Area Rapid Transit held a groundbreaking ceremony for the rolling stock maintenance depot for its future Silver Line commuter route on October 24.

UK: More than 200 stakeholders from the rail sector and beyond attended the official launch of Rail Campus Derby project, which aims to attract more rail businesses to the city that has been confirmed at the future headquarters of Great British Railways.

ESTONIA: Final negotiations for the privatisation of national rail freight operator Operail are now underway with Tallinn-based Tiigi Keskus, which submitted the highest bid.

Despite extensive investment in renewable energy supplies, rising demand for power means that India will still be burning coal for many years, providing a baseload for Indian Railways’ freight operations. Raghu Dayal explains.