SBB to revamp century-old Hauenstein Base Tunnel
Swiss railway manager SBB will renovate the Hauenstein base tunnel starting this summer after two postponements. Repairing the tunnel vault, renewing tracks and cables and improving drainage should guarantee safe, trouble-free rail operations in the...Read more
Construction of key Brenner Tunnel access route due to start this year
The Trento bypass, a key piece of infrastructure that will offer access to the Brenner Base Tunnel on the Italian side, has been green lit for construction. Work will begin later this year, Italian infrastructure...Read more
The Netherlands and Belgium are neighbours yet ERTMS rollout worlds apart
Belgium prides itself that 52 per cent or 3.333 kilometres of its national railway network is equipped with ETCS. Across the border in the Netherlands, by contrast, ‘only’ four lines are currently under ERTMS. Indeed,...Read more
Scotland’s Railway bridge installation is among the biggest in Europe
Engineers in Scotland have begun an intense ten-day programme to install a 5,000-tonne bridge on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) at Ravenscraig in North Lanarkshire. The site is near Motherwell on the section of...Read more
Turin-Lyon: former politicians urge Macron to avoid ‘tunnel without trains’ scenario
The French side of the project for the Turin-Lyon railway has been under the spotlight for possible significant delays in the construction of access roads to the tunnel from Lyon. In the latest development, 37...Read more
Poor punctuality, losses after tax and DB Cargo overshadow DB Group results
The Deutsche Bahn Group on Thursday published its annual results, announcing a positive operating result and being back in the black. Yet behind the positive headlines there are not-so-positive takeaways from the results, such as...Read more
Germany breaks with ‘road finances road’, money will go to rail
Eighty per cent of the money from the CO2 surcharge of the German truck toll will from 2024 onwards go to railway investments, instead of road. This decision comes after a three-day retreat where the...Read more
Austria and Czech Republic join forces to bring ‘Emperor Franz Josephs railway’ into the 21st century
Named after Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the ‘Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Bahn’ is a railway that connects the Austrian capital Vienna to Prague in Czech Republic. Its first section went into operation in 1868. Now,...Read more
‘Demanding year’ at Bane NOR leads to another high-profile resignation
Bane NOR executive development director Stine Undrum has announced her resignation, marking the second-high profile departure from the Norwegian infrastructure manager this month. She will be replaced by Utbygging’s Bettina Sandvin from 11 April onwards.Read more
Seven thousand applications for 60-person tour of famous Birmingham signal box
It may be easier to win the National Lottery than to see inside an iconic example of 1960s brutalist railway architecture. Network Rail, the organisers of one-off public tours of the former Birmingham New Street...Read more
Badgers cripple Dutch railway lines, infrastructure manager not amused
Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail has had to suspend train traffic on two lines in recent days following the discovery of badger burrows under the tracks. This can result in track instability, which presents a safety...Read more
Deutsche Bahn back in the eye of the storm over finances and restructuring
Deutsche Bahn (DB) finds itself back at the centre of attention in Germany due to the current financial situation at the company and what it means for the ongoing restructuring and break-up plans for the...Read more
Edinburgh trams make historic move
Edinburgh Trams have made history for the right reasons, for once. A test run saw the first guided rail vehicle to traverse Leith Walk in 66 years. History was made on Monday night (13 March),...Read more