UAE: Liebherr Transportation Systems (China) has supplied heating, ventilation & air-conditioning units for three push-pull trainsets which Etihad Rail ordered from CRRC Qingdao Sifang last year.

NORWAY: ALMEX has supplied Olso Gardermoen airport train operator Flytoget with vending machines which can either print a paper ticket or send a digital ticket to a passenger’s mobile phone by text message.

SWITZERLAND: Südleasing has ordered 20 Siemens Mobility Vectron multi-system electric locomotives which will be leased by SBB Cargo International under a long-term contract with a flexible term.

AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has awarded Alstom a €100m framework contract covering the upgrading of ETCS onboard equipment on 449 vehicles by 2030.

New line construction and fleet renewals have cemented Kazakhstan’s position as a key node in the Eurasian transit market. Further expansion is now in hand, with more investment planned by 2030, reports Vladimir Waldin.

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

UK: The Institute of Railway Research at the University of Huddersfield is leading a study which brings together industry and academia to promote the benefits of the tram-train concept and address a lack of standardisation.

EGYPT: Italian high-end hospitality company Arsenale and Egyptian National Railways have signed heads of terms for the launch of a Guardian of the Nile luxury cruise train in 2027.

EUROPE: Rail projects are to receive 80% of the €7bn of Connecting Europe Facility co-financing grant funding announced by the European Commission on July 17. Schemes covered include Rail Baltica, the Lyon – Torino and Brenner tunnel corridors, numerous ERTMS deployments and work to better integrate Ukraine’s railways with the ...

UK: The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.

CHINA: The International Union of Railways and China Railway have announced that the 12th World Congress on High Speed Rail will take place in Beijing on July 8-11 2025, with the theme of ‘High speed rail: innovation and development for a better life’.

INTERNATIONAL: Korea Railroad Corp has signed an agreement with China National Railway Group to facilitate freight shipments between South Korea, Central Asia and Europe.

EUROPE: In response to ongoing lorry driver shortages and frequent road congestion at European borders including Turkey-Bulgaria, logistics company Cargo-Partner has introduced a range of intermodal services using rail for the long-distance leg.

SINAGPORE: SMRT Trains and Nanyang Polytechnic have co-created two diplomas to support the development of talent for the transport sector.

UK: Ministers will ‘bring forward legislation to improve the railways by reforming rail franchising, establishing Great British Railways and bringing train operators into public ownership’, Charles III said when he read the King’s Speech setting out the newly-elected Labour government’s legislative programme at the state opening of parliament on July ...

GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG has launched the process of selecting a company to operate Allgäu regional passenger services using a future fleet of emission-free tilting multiple units which would be able to use overhead electric, hydrogen and battery power.

BELARUS: Chinese manufacturer CRRC Datong has postponed the delivery of 15 BKG2 single-section AC electric freight locomotives to Belarus Railway, citing the use of western components now subject to EU and US sanctions on Belarus.

Sitting astride several Eurasian landbridge corridors, Kazakhstan has been well placed to develop rail freight flows between China and Europe, as well as north-south connections to India and South Asia. Vladimir Waldin investigates.

INNOTRANS: The Australasian Railway Association is organising events around InnoTrans 2024 to provide its members with an ‘outstanding business development opportunity’ where they can promote themselves to the global market, connect with decision-makers and build relationships with potential partners, suppliers and customers.

UK: The use of cab-mounted forward-facing CCTV for the automated detection of potentially hazardous lineside vegetation is being tested on the East Coast Main Line.