Digitalisation

‘Digital Twins’: new £46m research hub could overcome barriers to tech’s adoption

The UK has opened a new research hub to study how digital twins can help decarbonise the UK’s transport systems. With an initial investment of 46 million pounds…
Czechia racing ahead with ETCS adoption

As Europe scrambles to adopt the EU’s European Train Control System (ETCS), one country in Central Europe is doing a particularly fine job of making the switch. Czechia…
Norway: AI cameras to tackle rail crossing accidents

Every year, just under 700 incidents occur at level crossings in Norway. In response, the state-owned rail agency Bane NOR is using state-of-the-art electronic surveillance at 39 of…
HS2 brings broadband to Bucks and beyond

Britain’s high speed rail project, HS2, could be Britain’s high speed broadband project too. The company building the route between London and Birmingham is examining the prospects of…
Italy tests new URV, a self-driving inspection pod that can hit 200 km/h

Italy has successfully tested its prototype for a fully autonomous Unmanned Railway Vehicle (URV) that can map critical safety and efficiency issues along the nation’s high-speed rail network.…
Interview ERTMS director on Dutch rollout: ‘There is a time of thinking and a time of doing’

The head of ERTMS at the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) Jo de Bosschere feels that the Netherlands should start taking action on the ERTMS roll-out. “I…
French-speaking countries Luxembourg, the only EU country to run an all-ERTMS network

Since its mandatory introduction in 2009 for all new EU-funded rail projects, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) has been gradually installed across the trans-European rail networks,…
UK’s iconic ‘magstripe’ ticket nears buffers

For train travellers in the UK, it has been an integral part of the railway experience for decades. No, not rail replacement bus services and strikes. It’s the…
Meeting CBTC interoperability challenges: a breakdown

Up to 10 railway systems worldwide annually move to Communications-based train control (CBTC), completely or partially. For instance, last year it witnessed the first commissioning in Australia’s history…
Trenitalia introduces virtual experience of new Intercity Notte trains

Trenitalia presented a virtual reality experience to preview its new Intercity Notte trains at the National Museum of 21st Century Art (MAXXI) in Rome, as part of FS…
Arriva starts using ETCS trains for its Three-Country Trains

Carrier Arriva has put the first FLIRT trains with ETCS into use for the Three-Country Train between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Travellers can now transit between Maastricht,…
RFI advances Naples Central Station Central Computerized Apparatus Implementation

Infrastructure enhancement works continue for the implementation of the Central Computerized Apparatus (ACC) at Naples Central Station by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI). The ongoing infrastructure improvements aim to…
Adif invests 42 million euros in Central region communication infrastructure

Adif will invest 41.9 million euros in the renovation of its communication infrastructure in the Central region (including the Autonomous Community of Madrid and the provinces of Ávila,…
Renfe initiates commercial simulation trips for new Avlo S106

Renfe has scheduled commercial simulation trips with passengers aboard the new Avlo S106 trains on the Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona and Figueres Vilafant-Barcelona-Madrid routes. The company is conducting these journeys, which…
Siemens Mobility invests 150 million in Dortmund digital service depot

Siemens Mobility is investing approximately 150 million euros to expand its highly digitalised service depot in Dortmund-Eving to 87,550 m². Growing demand for rail services calls for the…