Climate and the rail industry
The latest news about climate and the rail industry, including the impact of climate change, mitigation measures and policy.
Electrification of two Dutch regional railways funded
NETHERLANDS: The government has confirmed co-funding for the electrification for two regional lines in the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland.
Portugal: South International Corridor nears completion
Trains have started running on the first section of the 80 km Évora – Elvas direct line, which is now expected to open in 2025, shortening the TEN-T corridor serving ports in southern Portugal and paving the way for a revival of international passenger services. André Pires reports.
Dublin – Belfast electric-battery trains funded
EUROPE: Funding is now in place for the procurement of electric-battery inter-city trains to increase frequencies and reduce journey times on the cross-border Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast which is operated jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways.
CN to test diesel-battery hybrid main line locomotive
CANADA: CN has purchased a hybrid diesel-battery main line locomotive from Progress Rail, which it intends to use to assess the opportunity for retrofitting a portion of its fleet.
Maintenance vehicle converted to fuel cell power
AUSTRIA: An X534 overhead electrification construction and maintenance railcar has been converted from diesel to fuel cell power.
Second Bratislava to Austria line to be electrified
SLOVAKIA: Infrastructure manager ŽSR has started work on the long-planned electrification of the short 2·4 km single-track link from Devínska Nová Ves to the Austrian border at Marchegg.
Ontario Line electrification contract awarded
Self-propelled battery wagon deployed on mining railway
Zillertalbahn hydrogen plan dropped in favour of battery traction
First Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units enter service
Next-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle on test
Long-distance electric-diesel-battery trainset unveiled
Decarbonisation: Accelerating the electrification task
Decarbonisation: Schleswig-Holstein pioneers a battery traction network
Battery tender for freight loco to be developed
Traction Technology: The weak case for hydrogen
Rail sector welcomes step towards emissions calculation standardisation
Third rail or batteries could replace Southern diesel trains
London Underground orders second-generation safety system
KiwiRail orders hybrid shunting locomotives
Hydrogen tram development project underway
Chicago’s Metra thinks outside the box with Stadler battery train order
California orders more hydrogen trainsets
Smart Train Lease aims ‘to make renting trains as easy and simple as renting a car’