In depth
Taking you behind the news to understand the deeper trends that are shaping the rail industry, and giving you the essential insight to inform your business decisions.
Australia: ARA targets modal shift
The Australasian Railway Association has launched a new strategy that it hopes will bring a greater share of Australia’s expanding freight market on to the country’s railway network.
Smart maintenance: Locomotives find a new lease of life
The delicate economics of rail freight and rapidly changing regulatory conditions have seen the emergence of a healthy market across a swathe of eastern Europe focused on the overhaul, modernisation and life-extension of Soviet-era locomotives. Vladimir Waldin provides an overview.
Europe: Harmonising rail capacity strategies
Development of a single European railway area is being hampered by nationally led approaches to the development of route utilisation strategies. Now a pan-European programme is underway to harmonise the planning and management of network capacity.
Smart Maintenance: Digital depot takes shape
Due to accept its first trains in December, a depot now under construction near Augsburg is where TMH International will initially maintain two EMU fleets for operator Go-Ahead Bayern. Managing Director for Germany Klaus Hock explains the vision to Nick Kingsley.
New Zealand: Funding boost drives rail revitalisation
Climate change concerns and a desire to encourage modal shift have unlocked government funding for rail, enabling KiwiRail to address a legacy of under-investment and build a stronger future.
Comment: Automated reality
Automation of main line trains is slowly becoming a commercial reality, having been long established in the urban rail sector. However, mass adoption of driverless technology on mixed traffic railways still seems a long way off, with interim technology such as C-DAS offering many benefits in the meantime.
