Open access operator FlixTrain is expanding operations in Germany and plans to enter other European markets if conditions are favourable. Murray Hughes asked FlixTrain Managing Director Matthias Müller about the company’s plans.

GERMANY: Railpool Lokservice has opened ‘Europe’s most modern locomotive workshop’ at Hamburg Billbrook. ‘We wanted a workshop of superlatives and we built it’, said Managing Director Christoph Engel.

GABON: Christian Magni, the Director General of Société d’exploitation du Transgabonais, and Loic Ndinga Moudouma, Minister of Transport, have signed a contract for the next phase of modernisation of the 648 km Libreville – Franceville railway.

Having acquired German intermodal business Exploris Deutschland in July last year, theTX Logistik subsidiary of Italy’s FS Group is set firmly on an expansion course. Bernd Weisweiler, Director, Marketing & Business Development, answers our questions.

BELGIUM: Privatised freight operator Lineas has called for Belgium’s national and regional governments to take five steps which it says are needed to improve the competitiveness of rail freight and help address road congestion, climate change and the energy transition.

USA: Brightline West and Siemens Mobility have unveiled a scale model and renderings of the American Pioneer 220 high speed trainsets designed to operate at up to 355 km/h on the planned high speed line linking Las Vegas with Rancho Cucamonga east of Los Angeles.

UK: Swiss-based global logistics company Medlog has acquired Maritime Transport, which provides rail and road logistics services.

SWEDEN: Funding has been agreed for construction of a 60 km high speed line between Göteborg and Borås, the second largest town in the Västra Götaland region.

In its biennial report published on July 1, Germany’s Monopolies Commission calls for measures governing DB InfraGO to be geared more directly to the needs of rail customers.

POLAND: Koleje Małopolskie and Newag have signed a 1·3bn złoty framework contract for the purchase of six 3 kV DC electric multiple-units with an option for 19 more, Małopolskie voivodship announced on September 9.

EUROPE: Passengers in France’s Grand Est région travelling to and from destinations in Germany will soon be riding on a fleet of 30 electro-diesel Régiolis TFA trainsets built specifically for cross-border services.

MEXICO: President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has unveiled her ‘100 Steps for Transformation’ programme which contains the revitalisation of passenger rail services on three major corridors, totalling 3 000 km in length.

USA: Siemens Mobility has selected a site at Horseheads in upstate New York to produce American Pioneer 220 high speed trainsets for the Brightline West project to link Las Vegas with southern California.

With semi-trailers accounting for a majority of Europe’s road freight transport, policymakers must provide the right incentives to ensure that they can be used for intermodal applications if long-standing modal shift targets are to be achieved.

UK: Construction of High Speed 2’s Colne Valley Viaduct, being constructed close to the village of Denham in Buckinghamshire, has reached a key milestone, with the installation of the final bridge segment on September 5.

As Deutsche Bahn’s more flexible competitors eat into the rail freight market, drastic action is required to turn DB Cargo into a viable concern. Murray Hughes reports.

UK: Freightliner has launched its ECO90 booking service which enables customers of any size to reduce their carbon emissions by sending as little as one container on trains powered by alternative fuels.

MEXICO: The El Insurgente suburban rail service has reached the western edge of Mexico City.

USA: The NaviLens smart phone navigation app for visually impaired people is being tested on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Boston commuter rail network.

UK: TransPennine Express Managing Director Chris Jackson says good progress is being with tackling the operator’s backlog of driver training, which was a key issue behind the service reductions brought in with the December 2023 timetable. However, it will not be completed until next year.