Latest news
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Rail Business UKPassenger train services return to Birmingham’s Camp Hill line
UK: Passenger services were reinstated on the Camp Hill line on April 7, restoring a service that was withdrawn in 1941 owing to coal shortages during the Second World War. Tony Miles reports from Birmingham.
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NewsNorfolk Southern partners with shortline group for Atlanta terminal operations
USA: Shortline group Jaguar Transport Holdings is to operate Norfolk Southern’s Doraville transload terminal, and will make capital improvements to expand capacity and support future growth at the site to the northeast of Atlanta.
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NewsVIA Rail awards C$150m long-distance sleeping car modernisation contract
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail has awarded CAD Railway Industries a C$150m five-year contract to modernise its 56 Château and Manor class sleeping cars.
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NewsSouth Korean support for Ukrainian high speed rail studies
UKRAINE: The government of South Korea has allocated US$8m to support a feasibility study for the development of a high speed rail link between Kyiv and the EU.
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Rail Business UKGreat Western passengers feel the joys of spring
UK: Great Western Railway is testing the EcoSeat, which uses pocket spring technology more commonly found in mattresses.
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Rail Business UKSurplus coal wagons rebuilt for construction traffic
UK: Heavy Haul Rail has taken delivery of the last of 76 rebuilt MWA-C box wagons for carrying construction materials and other bulk traffic; these were originally used to carry coal.
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NewsDelhi’s ring lines grow as work starts on further metro expansion
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated two metro extensions totalling 22·2 km and laid the foundation stone for three more sections totalling 16·1 km.
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NewsUrban transport industry news round-up
This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
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Rail Business UKApprentice Customer Drivers qualify ahead of Lumo’s West Coast launch
UK: The first apprentice drivers for open access operator Lumo’s London to Stirling service have completed training ahead of the launch, which is planned by July.
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NewsSEPTA buys commuter rail coaches from Montréal
USA: Philadelphia’s SEPTA has reached a US$8·58m agreement to buy 24 commuter rail coaches from Greater Montréal regional transport authority Exo.
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NewsPortland selects CAF USA to supply battery-equipped trams
USA: The city of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation has selected CAF USA to supply 15 battery-equipped Urbos trams.
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NewsSouth Shore Line opens Monon Corridor branch
USA: Chicago inter-urban commuter railway South Shore Line opens its Monon Corridor branch from Hammond Gateway to Munster/Dyer, after inauguration ceremonies which were briefly disrupted by bad weather.
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NewsObstacle detection system to support cost-effective GoA4 on the København S-bane
DENMARK: Operator DSB is working on the development of a platform-based obstacle detection system that it describes as ‘one of the most pioneering elements’ in the programme to equip København’s 170 km S-bane network for GoA4 unattended operation.
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NewsWest Midlands Metro extended to Millennium Point
UK: Tram operator West Midland Metro opened the first stage of its Birmingham Eastside extension on April 5.
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NewsRomanian railway modernisation contracts awarded
ROMANIA: Infrastructure manager CFR SA has awarded the Asocierea TrackWorks consortium of Alstom and Terna contracts for modernisation of two sections of the Craiova – Drobeta Turnu Severin – Caransebeș route totalling 83 km.
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NewsAustralasian Railway Association organises InnoTrans 2026 delegation
INNOTRANS: The Australasian Railway Association is organising a delegation to this year’s InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin, which it says will present a valuable opportunity to showcase Australia’s rail industry on the global stage.
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News‘Global first’ in London tram track renewals
UK: In what supplier Sika says is a world first, contractor VolkerRail has installed polymer rail grout on a section of embedded track on the London Trams network using a machine instead of manual application.
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NewsOpen payments kick off ahead of World Cup
USA: Seattle’s Sound Transit has worked with INIT to deploy ‘Tap to Pay’ open payment on its Orca fare system, enabling users of seven light rail, bus and ferry operators in the Puget Sound region to pay using a contactless credit or debit card or a mobile wallet.
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NewsBi-mode inter-city trainsets on test in New South Wales
AUSTRALIA: Test running of the first of 29 Civity electro-diesel multiple-units built by CAF has started on the New South Wales network.
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In depthComment: Security concerns reflect rail’s reliance on its people
Deutsche Bahn has unveiled fresh measures to protect staff following a fatal assault in February. Our Executive Editor Nick Kingsley argues that this incident has shone a light on an under-recognised aspect of railway safety, while highlighting the importance of railway people amid a growing clamour for automation.