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.

News from the world rail freight market.

UK: Testing on the Sheffield Supertram network has found that the VibeSafe portable track vibration detection system developed by Efficiency Ups Ltd could offer a reliable and cost-effective way of alerting pedestrians to approaching trams.

USA: LILEE Systems is testing its SafeRail wireless level crossing activation system with a Class I freight railway which is aiming to enhance safety, minimise service disruptions and increase average train speeds.

EUROPE: The XCross research project has been launched with the aim of enhancing the inspection and maintenance of turnout crossing surface profiles.

SWITZERLAND: The first of the 44 ICN tilting inter-city trainsets to be refurbished was unveiled by Swiss Federal Railways on October 24.

UK: The London Legacy Development Corp has approved a masterplan for the regeneration of brownfield land at Bow Goods Yard near Stratford as a rail freight campus and last-mile logistics hub.

EUROPE: The European Commission has fined the Czech and Austrian national train operators a total of €48·7m for colluding to prevent new entrant RegioJet from acquiring second-hand rolling stock to support its growth in the Czech Republic and on the Praha – Wien route.

NETHERLANDS: An agreement for the installation of overhead electrification contact wire made from 100% recycled copper was signed at InnoTrans by La Farga, ProRail, Strukton Rail and Railtech.