UK: ‘It hasn’t been a great six months for rail’, suggested Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, in his keynote address to the Northern Transport Summit on March 21.

BULGARIA: National passenger operator BDZ-Putnicheski Prevozi has bought 76 second-hand coaches from Germany’s Deutsche Bahn for use on services from Sofia to Varna, Burgas and Ruse.

EUROPE: Amazon has awarded FS Group’s Mercitalia Logistics a contract to transport goods between its fulfilment centres in Germany and Italy.

AUSTRALIA: The first Alstom C-Series electric multiple-unit has entered service on the Perth suburban network’s Joondalup and Mandurah lines. More than 10 000 people entered a competition to win around 150 tickets for the inaugural ride on April 7, ahead of start of regular operation the following day.

GERMANY: An initial four Siemens Mobility Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units entered passenger service on Netz 8 Ortenau routes in Baden-Württemberg on April 8.

EUROPE: Amid pressure on member states’ budgets and ongoing geopolitical instability, the rail sector used the Connecting Europe Days event in Brussels to urge EU policymakers to ensure investment is maintained in the next legislative period.

USA: Amtrak has selected Wohlsen Construction to build its Unified Operations Center in Wilmington, Delaware.

CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD and Open access company RegioJet have agreed to end all legal proceedings relating to a dispute about competition on the Praha – Ostrava line

PHILIPPINES: March 27 marked the last operation of passenger services for five years in the Manila metropolitan area in order to accelerate construction of the North-South Commuter Railway.

News from the world rail freight market.

MOLDOVA: An application for accession to the Convention Concerning International Carriage by Rail has been submitted by Moldova.

SWEDEN: Railcare is testing its second-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle, which has been developed with ABB and can both operate and charge its batteries via overhead electrification.

USA: Amtrak has awarded its first Delivery Partner contract, covering the $6bn Frederick Douglass Tunnel programme which it says is its single largest capital project.

UK: Freightliner and synthetic fuel developer Zero Petroleum have announced a partnership which aims to achieve fossil-free locomotive operation by 2040 and overall net zero by 2050.

CANADA: Greater Toronto area transport agency Metrolinx has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to provide track, signalling and right-of-way maintenance services for its Central Region.

Swedish start-up Strainlabs is one of the founding participants in the Vossloh Connect digital ecosystem. Vossloh’s Head of Digital Pierre-Henri Bougeant and Strainlabs’ CEO Csaba Madru explain the partnership and why in rail digitalisation, simplicity is key.

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

Globalisation is facing a challenge in the railway industry as countries prioritise domestic production of trains. Nick Kingsley  explores the drawbacks of this approach and the continued importance of international co-operation.

ITALY: Trenitalia has unveiled its first long-distance trainset which can operate on electric, diesel or battery power.

UK: The Department for Transport intends to directly award incumbent London North Eastern Railway a contract to continue to operate InterCity East Coast passenger services.