Belgian Railways shifts to ETCS
Belgian railway undertaking NMBS/SNCB is planning to equip 23 locomotives of HLD77 type with ETCS. To this end, Alstom will supply the new train protection system based on its Atlas platform. The retrofitted vehicles will...Read more
Continuous integration to speed up ETCS development
To intensify the ETCS development, The Signalling Company from Belgium decided to apply continuous integration, a well-known practice in programming. This approach will be used in its newly launched testing campaign. It is dedicated to...Read moreData fusion algorithms provide more advantages for ETCS
Brussels-based railway certification organisation Belgorail has approved the ETCS Baseline 3 Release 2. The latest standard was developed by Alstom and includes the usage of data fusion algorithms. As a result, the solution is able...Read more
Sheep regulate vegetation along tracks in Belgium
Belgian rail infrastructure manager Infrabel is carrying out an extraordinary experiment. It uses sheep and goats for regulating vegetation along the tracks. The animals help the railway company to remove weeds at the hard-to-reach places.Read more
European railways return to normal operations after lockdown
After almost two months in lockdown, European railway operators are gradually coming back to their normal activities. Some companies have already restored their complete schedule, others have done this only partially. However, all of them...Read more
Positive trend for women in rail sector
Women account for 21.41 per cent of the railway staff in Europe. Such a conclusion has been made by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)...Read more
Sweden plans night train to Belgium
Sweden is planning to improve its rail connectivity with other European countries. The night train from Malmö to Brussels via Cologne could be launched in two or three years. To do this, the Scandinavian country...Read more
Digitalisation keeps railways moving during pandemic
With the spread of the coronavirus in Europe, railways are facing many challenges. One of them is to reduce contact between staff and customers while maintaining stable and safe operations. To this end, digital solutions...Read more
Lineas retrofits 88 locomotives with ETCS
Lineas, the largest European private rail freight operator, plans to equip its 88 shunting locomotives of type HLR 77 with ETCS. The first retrofitted vehicle will be rolled out in the middle of 2024 while...Read more
Award winning Lineas CEO: Green Deal opportunity for modal shift
CEO Geert Pauwels of Lineas has won the European Railway Award 2020 on Tuesday evening in Brussels. The director received the award for the successful transformation of a loss-making division of the Belgian railways into...Read more
ÖBB launches two night trains to Brussels
Austrian national railway operator ÖBB has launched a new night train service. It links the cities of Vienna and Innsbruck to Brussels. Two new connections between Austria and Belgium are available for passengers twice a...Read more
New stage of energy measuring for European rail sector
By July 2020, the European rail sector should implement IRS 90930, a new standard in energy measuring. It includes the installation of onboard Energy Measuring Systems (EMS) in the locomotives and passenger trains as well...Read more
Thalys and Eurostar may merge into one entity
European cross-border high-speed railway operators Thalys and Eurostar may merge into one entity. By 2030, the combined company will serve 30 million passengers a year and make a significant contribution to the EU’s ‘shift to...Read more