British open-access operators in jeopardy because of coronavirus
In a month after introducing the entire Paragon brand new train fleet, the UK’s open-access operator Hull Trains has been forced to temporarily cancel all its connections. This momentous decision was taken by the company...Read more
How European railways react to coronavirus
While European airlines cancel their flights to Italy and other countries, railway operators try to keep up the work as normal as possible. However, the international train traffic to and from Italy has been suspended....Read more
Report from a night-time trial on a hydrogen train
On Saturday, 7 March, a Coradia iLint hydrogen-powered train was shown to the press and public in Groningen. Every night until 14 March, ProRail, Arriva, Alstom and Dekra Rail are conducting trials with this sustainable...Read more
Second public-sector train operator in Britain
In less than two years after the InterCity East Coast franchise has been taken over by the UK government, a similar story did happen again on another regional network. This time the Department for Transport...Read more
Hydrogen train on test tracks in Netherlands
The Coradia iLint hydrogen-powered train has been rolled out on the railway network of the Netherlands. Starting from 27 February, it is performing the overnight test trips on the Groningen – Leeuwarden line. On 7...Read more
First ATO trip with passengers in Netherlands
Arriva Netherlands is moving further in examining the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) technology. The company’s diesel-electric GTW train has performed the unmanned trip in the Groningen area with the passengers on board. It is the...Read more
Arriva loses franchise in Northern England
Arriva UK Trains will lose the rail franchise in Northern England five years ahead of schedule. The UK government will take Northern, the troubled train operator, under its control from 1 March 2020 instead of...Read more
Biggest German political party wants to reform DB
German Federal traffic minister Andreas Scheuer Scheuer signed a deal this week with Deutsche Bahn for the investment of 86 billion euros to update the German rail infrastructure. Still, there is a lot of discussions...Read more
Magic circle of rail franchise in UK
It’s a month since the UK’s newborn and veteran train operators have declared their inspiring plans for the future. Some companies even managed to report fewer quick wins. On the other hand, at least six...Read more
UK waves goodbye to Virgin Trains
United Kingdom has waved goodbye to Virgin Trains. The railway operator has been operating on the West Coast Main Line for over 22 years. It was the UK’s last railway enterprise owned by business magnate...Read more
Deutsche Bahn prepares Arriva for IPO
Deutsche Bahn is considering to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of its multinational transport subsidiary Arriva. The company’s minority stake might well be sold next year. Afterwards, DB plans to put the remaining shares...Read more
ATO as the magic bullet for shortage of track capacity
“Almost everywhere in the world, there is a shortage of capacity on the rail network. We desperately need Automatic Train Operation to tackle this shortage. It’s not a question of can do or want to,...Read more
Arriva NL: ‘Liberalisation is not as fashionable as earlier’
CEO of Arriva Netherlands Anne Hettinga had expected more from the government plan for liberalisation of the Dutch railways. He calls ‘extremely disappointing’ that four lines mentioned in the coalition agreement still have to be...Read more