SAUDI ARABIA: The Royal Commission for AlUla and Saudi Railway Polytechnic have announced an agreement to boost the capabilities of young Saudis looking to launch a career in AlUla and in the country’s rail sector.

UK: Eriks UK & Ireland has completed a £1·2m refurbishment of its engineering workshop at Greenford in west London as a dedicated facility for servicing London Underground traction motors.

EUROPE: In what the two incumbents term ‘a co-operation between historic operators’, SNCF and SNCB have launched a low-cost loco-hauled Ouigo service between Paris and Brussels.

News from the world rail freight market.

UK: The National Centre for Accessible Transport has launched a database to consolidate accessible transport research, strategy and policy-related documents, along with a transport barriers database highlighting the challenges that disabled people face.

Threatened with closure in the mid-1980s, Catalunya’s Lleida – La Pobla de Segur branch has been revitalised by the regional government over the past two decades. Targeted investment is paying off with steadily increasing ridership, reports Mike Bent.

SPAIN: High speed rail infrastructure manager ADIF Alta Velocidad has awarded Sacyr Construcción a €49m contract to build 6·3 km of the future 19 km Loja bypass on the high speed line from Antequera to Granada.

FRANCE: The renewal of the rolling stock fleet used on the RER suburban network around Paris is continuing, with the latest generation RER NG trainsets entering service on Line D in December.

UK: Train operator TransPennine Express has launched a free virtual work experience programme aimed at anyone interested in a career in rail.

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

CHINA: City University of Hong Kong, MTR Corp and MTR Academy have signed a memorandum of understanding covering railway-related research, talent development and innovation.

UK: ScotRail has partnered with Optimise AI to create digital twins of its stations and depots which will help the operator identify opportunities to save energy.

Around 17 000 km of abandoned or poorly used lines in France and Germany could be revived using small, frequent or on-demand vehicles as part of a decarbonisation drive. Thanks to rapidly progressing technologies with minimal investment and low operating costs, there is an opportunity to tap political support to ...

UK: Project promoter HS2 Ltd has let contracts for the supply of signalling and train control systems for the high speed line between London and the West Midlands.

SAUDI ARABIA: National operator Saudi Arabia Railways has selected Swiss design consultancy Nose Design Experience to support the development of its next-generation of inter-city trainsets.

CHINA: Two prototype CR450 high speed trainsets designed for a maximum speed of 450 km/h and an operating speed of 400 km/h have been unveiled in Beijing, ahead of testing to optimise the design and enable the sets to enter service as soon as possible.

INDIA: The 13 km Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar extension of the Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System line was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 5.

UK: Contracts have been awarded for a mid-life refresh of the Class 376 electric multiple-units used on Southeastern’s London suburban services since 2004.

RUSSIA: Agreements on the organisational structure, financing and risk allocation for the Moskva – St Petersburg high speed rail project were signed on December 23.

The European Union’s Recovery & Resilience Fund is the latest opportunity to fund much-needed improvements in the Romanian rail network, but the looming deadline for project completion is proving tough to meet. Toma Bačić explains.