In May the first passenger services are set to transfer from the private to the public sector as part of the UK government’s rail reform plans. But there is more to the UK rail sector than these contracted passenger services, and operators that are not to be nationalised are worried ...

National passenger operator SNCF Voyageurs has seen ridership and revenue surge in the post-pandemic period. Its next big challenge will be to respond to the opening up of the French passenger market to competition, as the leadership team explains to Jérémie Anne.

SPAIN: Infrastructure manager ADIF has awarded Kontron Transportation a contract to deploy GSM-R communications on the Medina del Campo – Orense conventional line.

Reliance on proprietary technology and fragmented ticketing systems can constrain the value of public transport. The adoption of open standards in Mexico City offers an example of how integrated multimodal networks can enhance access and contribute to wider economic prosperity.

UK: East Midlands Railway has unveiled the first of 44 Class 170 regional diesel multiple-units which are to be refurbished to ‘echo the sleek aesthetic’ of the Hitachi Class 810 Aurora inter-city trainsets which are to enter service later this year.

SWEDEN: Stockholm metro maintenance contractor Strukton Rail has awarded Vossloh a subcontract to use a High Speed Grinding machine to remove corrugations, slip waves and other signs of rail wear.

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

USA: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has cancelled a $63·9m Federal Railroad Administration grant awarded to Amtrak under the Corridor Identification & Development programme for the Amtrak Texas High-Speed Rail Corridor.

GERMANY: Stadler says the future of its Berlin plant has been secured through a collective labour agreement between management, employees and trade union IG Metall.

UK: Infrastructure services business M Group has acquired digital technology company Telent, saying this will help it to meet the evolving challenges of ageing infrastructure in the UK and Ireland.

ALBANIA: The European Investment Bank has signed a €90·5m financial package to support the €121m modernisation of the line running south from Durrës to Rrogozhina.

EUROPE: Supply industry association UNIFE has called for the EU budget to include a dedicated €3bn rail research programme as the successor to the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, saying this would help to ’keep the European rail supply industry number one in the world, amid the global race to challenge ...

UK: Testing is underway with what is thought to be the first installation of European Train Control System equipment on an operational steam locomotive, as part of a plan to secure the long-term future of heritage traction operation on the national rail network.

FRANCE: Stadler has signed a contract to supply eight customised diesel-battery hybrid multiple-units for the narrow gauge Nice – Digne line operated by Chemins de Fer de Provence.

INDIA: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has inspected the first of the 9 000 hp EF-9K electric freight locomotives being produced by Siemens Mobility and Indian Railways at Dahod in Gujarat.

UK: South Lanarkshire’s second Rail Skills Academy has been launched to equip 11 young people with the skills and experience required to thrive in the railway maintenance sector.

INDIA: The new Pamban railway bridge in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district was inaugurated when Prime Minister Narendra Modi operated the vertical lift span to facilitate the passage of a naval coastguard vessel.

SOUTH AFRICA: Stated-owned logistics business Transnet is seeking a private sector partner to help establish a rolling stock leasing company as part of the opening of the rail freight market to competition.

POLAND: A consortium led by Porr has been awarded the 1·76bn złoty contract to build the high speed rail tunnel under Łódź as part of the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny programme.

ROMANIA: Greenbrier is to close its Arad wagon factory, and concentrate production at its Caracal and Drobeta-Turnu Severin sites.