ProRail bans ballast stones from three quarries due to harmful quartz dust
ProRail temporarily prohibits the use of stones for track ballast from three certified European quarries. Rocks from these quarries contained too much quartz dust, which is harmful when inhaled. This has emerged from a study...Read more
UK disruption continues over withdrawal of Hitachi trains for safety checks
What next for the UK rail industry, with a significant proportion of the passenger fleet taken off line for urgent safety inspections? The shock news of hairline fractures in the 800 series Intercity Express fleet...Read more
94 level crossings in Croatia to get active safety measures
Croatia takes action to make 94 level crossings safer to reduce incidents. Last week, an agreement was signed in order to provide the level crossings with active signalling and other safety measures. The rail-road crossings...Read more
Jacob Zeeman new top executive of Dual Inventive
Jacob Zeeman started on Monday as the new CEO of rail solutions company Dual Inventive. Last week, Zeeman signed the contract with the managing directors, which at the time of signing consisted of Lex van...Read more
Anti-trespassing mats at level crossings in Toronto to reduce incidents
In an effort to reduce incidents at level crossings, Canadian transportation agency Metrolinx is exploring ways to separate people from speeding trains. The installation of specialized rubber panels with pointy protrusions at high risk locations...Read more
Improving safety at level crossings via mobile app
Mobile applications have already become popular among railway operators. They could also be useful for infrastructure managers. Infrastruktura železnice Srbije, the state-owned entity that owns and maintains railway network in Serbia, developed an app dedicated...Read more
Network Rail shifts to paperless processes
UK’s infrastructure manager Network Rail intends to transform its operational processes in 2021. Most of the planning, risk assessment issues and management reports will become paperless. To this end, the public body will implement a...Read more
New online courses from RailTech Academy
The RailTech Academy is coming back with new online courses after the holiday break. Five lectures are scheduled for late August and the first half of September. This time the courses will be carried out...Read more
Stonehaven derailment commemorated by one minute silence across UK
Colleagues and commuters across the UK rail network fell silent on Wednesday morning, 19 August, at precisely 09:43. The mark of respect was commemorated the three who died exactly one week previously in a serious...Read more
Fatal crash in Scotland: what went wrong at Stonehaven derailment
A serious derailment in the North East of Scotland has claimed the lives of three people, injured many more, and left the community in the nearby fishing community of Stonehaven in shock. The main line...Read more
More safety enforcement at British level crossings
British infrastructure manager Network Rail plans to reduce the number of accidents at the level crossings in East Anglia. To this end, it is installing red light safety enforcement cameras. This measure is being performed...Read more
Extensive programme for level crossings in Finland
Finland is implementing a four-year programme dedicated to safety enhancements at the level crossings. The local infrastrustructure agency Väylävirasto is installing the necessary equipment including barriers and warning signals at 129 sites. In addition, the...Read more
7,800 railway vehicles authorised for cross-European operations
The European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) has celebrated the first anniversary since it started to authorise railway vehicles, to issue safety certificates and ERTMS approvals. For this period, it delivered 638 authorisations for 7,800...Read more