Features & Analysis – Page 13
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In depthLight rail: Multifunctional sensors support tram expansion
Component supplier Lenord+Bauer has worked with Siemens and operator BSAG to develop a compact sensor to support the launch of tram operations over a freight railway in Bremen.
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In depthSafety: Railways must report, learn and improve
The EU Agency for Railways is continuing its campaign to develop a risk-based safety culture across Europe’s rail networks, as Executive Director Josef Doppelbauer explains to Chris Jackson.
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In depthSignalling: Visualising designs at an earlier stage
Most signalling schemes across the sector are designed using 2D schematic plans. But this approach can make it difficult to visualise what drivers in the train cab will see, and when and how they will react. To address this and other challenges, Arup has created a signalling visualisation tool that is being deployed as part of Network Rail’s Transpennine Route Upgrade.
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In depthSafety: Spending grows as Indian Railways plans national signalling upgrade
Responding to the horrific three-train accident in Odisha on June 2, Indian Railways has announced a massive overhaul of its signalling assets, and begun qualifying potential suppliers for a national programme of modernisation and resignalling works. Raghu Dayal investigates.
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In depthItaly: Accelerating ERTMS deployment offers great benefits
Italian infrastructure manager RFI has launched an accelerated programme to equip the entire national network with ETCS by 2036. National ETCS Project Manager Nazzareno Filippini explains the thinking behind the strategy.
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In depthComment: UK turns its back on rail growth
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to abandon the remaining phases of the High Speed 2 programme reflects the UK government’s growing antipathy to rail investment and equivocation about climate targets, leaving Britain’s railway without a clear plan for future expansion.
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Rail Business UKInterview: Rethinking ‘unusual and special’ CrossCountry
UK: CrossCountry’s National Rail Contract came into force on October 15, giving the business some medium-term certainty and Managing Director Tom Joyner a chance to reflect with Rail Business UK on its evolving role as a truly national train operator.
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In depthResearch: Developing a data interface standard
The IDX4rail research initiative aims to create an open-source data converter to mitigate the challenge of differing interface standards for data transfer in the German urban and main line rail sectors.
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In depthGermany: A digital platform to manage freight flows
Having raised €3·6m in an investment round earlier this year, German company Rail-Flow is growing its range of digital tools to ease access to rail freight services.
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In depthInterview: Making trains even greener
Wabtec Transit CEO Pascal Schweitzer explains to Nick Kingsley how the tier one supplier is innovating in areas such as brake design and air-conditioning agents to further enhance the sustainability of rolling stock.
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In depthTraction: Intermittent wiring could form path to decarbonisation
Is there a feasible way to decarbonise North America’s railroads? Partial electrification matched with battery-powered traction may offer an answer.
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In depthUSA: Coastal corridor offers a growth blueprint
With Amtrak seeking to develop medium-distance corridor services linking selected city pairs across the USA, Dave Lustig looks to southern California, where inter-city passenger trains offer an attractive alternative to gridlocked highways.
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NewsViewpoint: What station users need from information screens
High speed line concessionaire HS1 Ltd has undertaken in-depth research to help it improve the usability of information screens at London’s St Pancras International station.
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In depthPolicy: Data sharing is essential to build the ‘Internet of Trains’
The vision of an ‘Internet of Trains’ is bringing together many players in the railway industry, but a genuine data economy based on digital business models will succeed only if there is a pan-European data sharing infrastructure.
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Rail Business UKViewpoint: ‘Provocative’ industrial relations measures put rail recovery at risk
The exclusion of striking workers from Network Rail’s bonus scheme and the introduction of the Minimum Service Levels Act are not going to have a positive impact on industrial relations in the rail industry, argues Stephen Morrall, Consultant at Hunters Law LLP.
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In depthTechnology: SBB extends automated passenger counting
Thanks to data available from automated passenger counting equipment, Swiss Federal Railways is improving occupancy and passenger distribution forecasts, writes Toma Bačić.
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In depthIndia: IR’s digital journey
Indian Railways has embarked on a further wave of digitalisation as it continues to transform its operations and services, explains Raghu Dayal.
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In depthAsia-Pacific: Riding a tidal wave of digital transformation
Railways across the Asia-Pacific region are grappling with the challenges of digitalisation, but the UN believes that taking a co-ordinated approach and establishing partnerships within a regional ecosystem offers the prospect of greater benefits. Raghu Dayal reports.
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In depthCanada: PPP model underpins High Frequency Rail aspirations
Canada’s High Frequency Rail programme is now at the procurement stage as the government seeks a PPP partner to deliver mostly dedicated tracks for inter-city passenger trains in the 1 000 km corridor between Toronto and Québec City by the mid-2030s. Nick Kingsley reports.
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In depthComment: Rail safety credentials matter
Politicians contines to raise doubts with rail safety, despite railways being one of the safest forms of land transport. Benjámin Zelki considers that while continuous improvement is welcome, sweeping claims about rail safety may not always align with the evidence.