All In depth articles – Page 3
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In depthJapan: Challenge and change at JR Freight
Legislation limiting overtime worked by road haulage drivers comes into force next year, offering JR Freight an opportunity to win back lost traffic. Challenges include the need to adapt more of the 1 067 mm gauge network for 40 ft high cube containers and to develop wagons to carry them. Mike Bent reports.
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In depthViewpoint: French lessons from North America
Radical changes to France’s state-owned rail freight sector are needed following the threat of punitive action from the European Commission. Iker de Luisa, General Manager of the Mexican railway industry association, asks what lessons can be learnt from America.
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Rail Business UKInterview: ‘It’s time to bring back dynamism’
UK: Cost control, revenue growth and a competitive dynamic will be key to securing the future of the UK rail sector, Transport UK Group Chief Executive Dominic Booth explains to Tony Miles.
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In depthTechnology: Innovation must come faster
Wheel-rail interaction and the need to accelerate the pace of innovation were hot topics at the 48th Conference on Modern Rolling Stock held in Graz on September 17-19. Reinhard Christeller reports.
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In depthResearch: Integrating AI in the rail sector
A European research project led by Italy’s National Interuniversity Consortium for Informatics suggests that adoption of AI technologies will have a transformative impact on railway business and operations.
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In depthEastern Europe: Rebuilding Serbia’s cross-border links
The Subotica – Szeged line across the Serbian-Hungarian border was due to reopen for passenger traffic in October following suspension of services for upgrading. Attention is now focused on rebuilding the Serbian part of the Beograd – Budapest main line, writes Toma Bačić.
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In depthAustralasia: Investment pipeline promises ‘golden age of rail’
Rail has a critical role to play on the path to net zero in Australia and New Zealand, but key issues including a lack of interoperability between networks and jurisdictions need to be urgently addressed.
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In depthSignalling: Queensland enters the digital age
Bringing together public and private sector partners, the Sequence Signalling & Systems Alliance is pressing ahead with the introduction of ETCS Level 2 train control across the South East Queensland rail network.
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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.