USA: Californian short line Sierra Northern Railway has completed testing of a hydrogen fuel cell shunting locomotive, and says its technology is suitable for widespread commercialisation ‘in the immediate future’.

GERMANY: S-Bahn Hamburg has awarded Alstom a contract to complete the fitting of its Class 490 electric multiple-unit fleet with ETCS and equipment for GoA2 semi-automatic train operation with a driver onboard.

POLAND: The Baltic Hub Container Terminal in the port of Gdańsk expects its capacity to grow to 8 million TEU per year by the mid-2030s, and it is aiming for rail to have a 36-39% share of hinterland movements by the middle of the next decade.

USA: The Commonwealth of Virginia is making progress with its passenger rail investment initiative, which will see the number of passenger trains operating in the state double from 2019 to 2030.

USA: Philadelphia’s SEPTA says it is the first commuter rail operator in the USA to deploy contactless payment, which went live on its Regional Rail services on April 4.

UK: Innovate UK has opened the latest calls for grant funding proposals under the First of a Kind programme, which supports the demonstration of innovative technologies to give them a better chance at being deployed by railway companies.

GERMANY: A court has approved tram manufacturer HeiterBlick’s application for ‘self-administration’ as part of plan to restructure and regain its competitiveness.

EUROPE: Italian national railway FS Group has announced plans to launch a high speed train service connecting Paris and London through the Channel Tunnel by 2029.

EUROPE: ‘Italian high speed is a successful model, and our goal is to extend it at the European level’, according to Trenitalia CEO Gianpiero Strisciuglio.

CHINA: The use of low-altitude drones to enhance the efficiency of railway maintenance is to be explored by Traffic Control Technology and MTR Corp.

UK: Construction of Siemens Mobility’s replacement signalling technology manufacturing, engineering and research facility in Chippenham was officially launched with a groundbreaking ceremony on April 4.

USA: Norfolk Southern has launched RailGreen, offering freight shippers verified certification of supply chain emissions reduction through the use of biofuels for carbon insetting.

FRANCE: Alstom has announced an ‘unprecedented’ plan to invest more than €150m to increase production capacity to meet the French and international demand for its Avelia very high speed trainsets and deliver on its ongoing commitments.

News from the world rail freight market.

UK: The Rail Innovation Group has published a Skills Beyond Scale report highlighting the impact of SMEs in the rail industry and calling for government action to unlock the full potential.

GERMANY: The Land of Bayern has announced plans to replace diesel traction on 462 km of non-electrified lines with battery and electric traction by 2036.

AUSTRALIA: Vossloh has opened a plant at Bendigo in Victoria to produce switches and components for projects in the south and east of Australia.

EUROPE: High Speed 1 concessionaire London St Pancras Highspeed has announced a International Growth Incentive Scheme designed to encourage new and existing train operators to introduce services and increase passenger volumes on the route between London and the Channel Tunnel.

ITALY: The launch of domestic high speed rail services within Italy will support plans for French national passenger operator SNCF Voyageurs to grow foreign activities from 22% of its business in 2024 to 30% in 2030, CEO Christophe Fanichet said at the restart of Paris – Milano services.

SINGAPORE: The second phase of the Singapore Rail Test Centre been completed, offering facilities for train commissioning and the comprehensive testing of signalling, telecoms, power, control and other systems under realistic local conditions.