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 think that in the Netherlands, they think too long and do too little,” he said. De Bosschere knows very well what it is all about, what trees you can find on the road when it comes to the roll-out of ERTMS. Before joining ERA, the Fleming was, among other things, Head of Signal Projects and Manager ETCS at Belgian rail operator Infrabel. RailTech’s sister publication in the Netherlands, SpoorPro, recently met De Bosschere at the annua ..read more

PARTNER – Beijing Zongheng Electro-Mechanical Technology Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as ZEMT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Academy of Railway Sciences. ZEMT is a China leading technology company supplying advanced mobility products and systems for rail vehicles, including high-speed railway and urban transit, and providing comprehensive solutions for customers. Building on its robust technical foundation, accumulated over the years through its mature and advanced traction, braking, and TCMS product platforms, ZEMT boasts significant advantages. To meet the growing demands of operators and ..read more

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, including Train Control (ETCS) and GSM-R digital communications. What is the state of the roll-out in the French-speaking countries in Europe? Since the 2009 announcement by the European Commission that all EU-funded rail infrastructure projects must adopt ERTMS through Train Control (ETCS) and GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications), several rail infrastructure managers have had to conve ..read more

The Railway Industry Association, which champions a dynamic rail supply sector in the UK, has entered the political fray. The RIA has called upon the next Government to boost rail capacity to meet future demand. The representative Association wants the forthcoming general election to signal a long-term and strategic approach to rail investment, leveraging the best of both the private and public sectors. With a UK general election in less than one month, the railway supply sector is eager for the next Government to take the lead on railway development. The Railway Industry Association says that ..read more

Students at TU Delft have taken the development of the hyperloop another step further: they have managed to make their prototype switch lanes. This is unprecedented worldwide, according to the student team.  Students have built a 42-metre test track on the Delft campus. Inside the steel structure floats their small, unmanned version of the hyperloop. According to the students, this is a promising means of transport to cover long distances quickly in the future. They have recently been testing their trajectory switching system. Hyperloops float by using electromagnetism through vacuum tube ..read more

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 familiar orange and cream-coloured credit-card-sized ticket with a magnetic stripe on the back. However, according to one operator, the handy little cardboard ticket will be a museum exhibit within five years. The days of the paper ticket are numbered. If Northern Trains is correct, that number of days is about 1500. Northern says the iconic orange ‘magstripe’ train ticket could be something of a museum exhibit within as little as five ..read more

Smart logo. Even smarter graphics. In the end though, no trains, no access and no more finance. Whether Midnight Trains ever stood a chance of getting rolling is open to question. However, the team behind the would-be start-up open-access operator have called it a night. they’ve pulled the plug on the Midnight Trains concept. In a poignant farewell, Midnight Trains has announced its closure, marking the end of a bold venture aimed at revolutionising night travel across Europe. The would-be open-access sleeper train operator folded without ever dispatching a single train, despite four years of ..read more

A fatal collision between a passenger and a freight train in Czechia resulted in four passengers losing their lives and dozens being injured. The head-on collision occurred between a RegioJet and a CD Cargo train on the east of Prague, near Parduvice. The line where the accident occurred is still not equipped with ETCS, something that could have possibly helped avoid the disaster. It should be noted that both train drivers remained unharmed, while the casualties unfortunately concerned passengers of the RegioJet train, which allegedly was transiting to Ukraine carrying approximately 300 travel ..read more

A Californian start-up company has found a novel way to bring renewable energy to consumers by using existing infrastructure. The whole concept depends on exploiting the versatility of rail freight. Sun Train intends to transport generated electricity in huge trains directly from the generating sites to cities and industrial consumers. The beauty of their concept is that all the infrastructure is already in place. If Sun Train sounds like a catchy name for a new Californian commuter service, you’d be right. Except, this train isn’t carrying any human commuters. It’s designed to commute somethi ..read more

Jump off at Hauptbahnhof and speed away to the outer suburb of Hallein. That’s the future prospect for Salzburg commuters. The city is set to embark on a brand new high-speed tram line project. The so-named S-LINK has been approved by the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology. It will complement the city’s two existing lines and add 15 kilometres to the network. The new tram line, to be operated by Salzburg Linien Verkehrsbetriebe under a 99-year concession agreement, will integrate into the existing 38-kilometre Salzburger Lokalbahn (SL ..read more