UK: Representatives of the planned Global Centre for Rail Excellence test facility in South Wales have agreed that securing funding is challenging but reiterated their hope that it can be secured soon.

SWEDEN: During InnoTrans shunting and terminal services company Väte Rail signed an agreement to use a hydrogen shunting locomotive to be supplied by Polish manufacturer Pesa within two years.

News from the world rail freight market.

FINLAND: The city of Turku’s tramway project promoter Turun Raitiotie has begun market consultation ahead of the procurement of a fleet of trams.

UK: ‘We believe that nobody will be buying a diesel train any more, be it a locomotive or a passenger train, and with our technology of bi-mode and, by adding batteries, tri-mode products we are certainly capable of providing the rolling stock that is needed’, Ralf Warwel, Marketing & Sales ...

ITALY: Wagon leasing company Wascosa has signed an agreement to offer the NiKRASA handling system as part of its service range.

EUROPE: High speed train operator Eurostar has signed a memorandum of understanding to become the first non-airline partner of the SkyTeam aviation alliance.

ASIA: UAE to Oman railway project promoter Hafeet Rail has awarded Progress Rail a contact to supply 27 EMD SD70ACS diesel locomotives. These will be designed to withstand the desert conditions, with advanced sand filtration systems as well as carbon emission reduction technologies.

GERMANY: Rhein-Ruhr transport authority VRR has awarded incumbent TRI Train Rental a contract to continue to operate Niers-Erft-Bahn service RB37 from December 2024 to December 2027.

SOUTH AFRICA: Huawei has deployed its railway perimeter security tool that uses both an optical fibre which can detect vibration and CCTV cameras across six depots managed by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa throughout the country.

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

INNOTRANS: Australian supplier Selectrail has launched a range of SIL4-compliant solid-state relays while undertaking live pre-approval trials of the technology in the UK with Network Rail.

UK: Rail consultancy AARC Professional Services has expanded its portfolio by launching a Rail Infrastructure unit.

URUGUAY: An additional US$110m of financing for the Ferrocarril Central project has been secured by PPP concession holder Grupo Vía Central.

FRANCE: The project for a dedicated non-stop rail service between central Paris and Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport has been postponed again.

ETCS testing and driver training are in full swing as the crossindustry East Coast Digital Programme moves into the delivery phase. Chris Jackson reports from York.

INDIA: Jupiter Wagons Ltd has opened a new forged railway wheel production plant at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Odisha state as part of a push into international markets.

EUROPE: Czech national operator České Dráhy has begun using ComfortJet long-distance trainsets on the Berliner international service from Praha to Berlin.

DENMARK: Local railway operator Lokaltog has signed a contract for preferred bidder Stadler to supply 14 Flirt Akku battery trainsets in 2028.

UKRAINE: ‘We do everything to keep the railways moving every day in this difficult situation. For two and a half years of war, we have never stopped operations’, reported Yevhen Liashchenko, CEO of Ukrainian national railway Ukrzaliznytsia when he spoke exclusively to Railway Gazette International at the recent InnoTrans trade ...