MEXICO: President Claudia Sheinbaum has set out plans to extend Mexico’s 1 477 km Tren Maya network to Belize and Guatemala, adding approximately 300 km of new lines.

AFGHANISTAN: Acting Minister of Public Works Mohammad Issa Sani has signed five contracts for domestic companies to produce detailed designs for a 737·5 km railway from Herat to Kandahar.

UK: Direct Rail Services and PD Ports have launched a trial rail freight service between Teesport and Manchester Trafford Park using ultra-low IDA wagons which can transport 9 ft 6 in high cube containers across the Pennines without requiring gauge enhancement works.

OMAN: UAE to Oman railway project promoter Hafeet Rail has awarded contracts for the construction of two freight facilities and the supply of wagons. It has also reached an agreement for the transport of aggregates on the future line.

News from the world rail freight market.

UAE: The first intake has completed what Dubai metro and tram operator Keolis MHI says is the region’s first graduate training programme of its kind for the rail sector.

EUROPE: Eurostar has worked with EuroPass and payment company PayXpert to launch a ‘mini-program’ enabling people to buy tickets through the WeChat messaging app which is popular with Chinese travellers.

UK: Wabtec has announced plans to close its Doncaster site and withdraw from the UK rolling stock maintenance market, with up to 300 jobs at risk.

While Mexico is enjoying a renaissance in rail investment at a national level, urban rail projects in several cities are coming under threat from cheaper bus options and Chinese-backed ART technology. Michael Dreyer reports.

The development of a rail corridor serving the globally important hubs of innovation in the region between the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge offers the rail industry a chance to prove that it can successfully undertake major projects, David Hughes, CEO of project promoter East West Railway Co, tells ...

GERMANY: The selection of DB Regio for a contract to operate Mittelthüringer Akku-Netz passenger services using battery-electric multiple-units ‘marks the beginning of a generational change in the traction technology used in local rail passenger transport in Thüringen’, according to the Land’s Infrastructure Minister Steffen Schütz.

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

 

AUSTRALIA: The government of South Australia has taken the operation of suburban passenger train services in Adelaide back into the public sector, ending the contract with Keolis Downer. Tram operations are to follow.

The biggest reforms to Britain’s railways since privatisation 30 years ago are now being implemented. Andrew Grantham tries to cut through the noise and explain what is actually going on.

The biggest reforms to Great Britain’s railways since privatisation 30 years ago are now being implemented. Andrew Grantham tries to cut through the noise and explain what is actually going on.

POLAND: Leasing company Akiem has unveiled the first of 30 Newag Dragon-2 locos ordered to support its expansion in the central European market.

SWITZERLAND: Widmer Rail Services company JeMyn has placed the first order for two Siemens Mobility Vectron electric locomotives with a battery module. This will enable zero-emission last mile freight and shunting operations on non-electrified tracks.

GERMANY: SaaS start-up Menlo79 has secured capital for the further expansion of its Wilson workforce management software for the rail and logistics sectors ’where simple shift planning tools and Excel reach their limits’.

TUNISIA: Line D of the Tunis Réseau Ferroviaire Rapide suburban rail network was launched on January 25, with 10 000 passengers carried on the first day.