Research, training & skills news – Page 10
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NewsCZ Loko opens accommodation building to meet demographic challenges
CZECH REPUBLIC: CZ Loko has opened a building containing a training centre for 30 people and accommodation for 25 employees in a former bank in the historic centre of Česká Třebová. The company’s existing training facilities at the factory were at full capacity, and the additional ...
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NewsChemical train emergency simulated
GERMANY: A large-scale chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives emergency response training exercise has used disco fog and public volunteers to simulate a chemical leak from a freight train near a station. The exercise hosted by the Dortmund fire brigade enabled 130 ...
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NewsAmtrak launches apprenticeship pilot programme
USA: Amtrak has announced an apprenticeship pilot programme providing new recruits and existing employees with opportunities for professional development. All apprentices will take core courses including safety, environmental awareness and personal protective equipment, before moving into classroom and hands-on instruction and then branching off into craft-specific ...
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NewsDenver to host 2022 International Level Crossing Awareness Day
SAFETY: After two years of virtual conferences, the International Level Crossing Awareness Day organised by the International Union of Railways returns to a live format with a three-day launch event in Denver. Taking place annually since 2009, ILCAD is supported by railways around the world, with ...
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Rail Business UKSkills academy aims to set young people up for a career in rail
UK: A Rail Skills Academy for people aged 18 to 24 years has been launched at contractor QTS Group’s Drumclog headquarters with funding from East Ayrshire Council’s Young Person Guarantee programme. The nine-week courses are designed to equip participants with the skills and experience required to ...
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Metro Report InternationalRoute Learning System simulates a ride with an instructor
USA: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has begun using PTSI Transportation’s Route Learning System software suite to train light rail drivers in San Jose. Suitable for both classroom and home use, the Route Learning System provides detailed route maps and track diagrams synchronised with an annotated ...
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NewsUniversities to assist Jamaican railway revival ambitions
JAMAICA: The University of Technology and the UK’s University of Birmingham have signed a memorandum of understanding for technical co-operation to develop engineering capabilities in support of ambitions to revive railway services. The MoU was facilitated by Dr Kevin Brown of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council, ...
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Rail Business UKDual-fuel Class 66 tested
UK: A Freightliner EMD Class 66 locomotive has been modified to test the diesel engine’s ability to use biomethane or hydrogen dual-fuelling as a potential path to lowering carbon emissions from rail freight. The tests used precision injection technology from Clear Air Power. This had previously ...
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Rail Business UK‘Unique in Europe’ Welsh test centre to push technological boundaries
UK: The Global Centre of Rail Excellence at Onllwyn in south Wales will be ‘unique in Europe’ when it opens in 2025, GCRE Chief Technology Officer Andy Doherty told the Railway Industry Association Innovation Conference on April 27.
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Rail Business UKWilliams sees ‘vast opportunities’ for the private sector under Great British Railways
UK: There will be ‘vast opportunities’ for the private sector to shape the rail sector as the development of Great British Railways gathers pace, Keith Williams, author of the Williams-Shapps Review into rail reform, told the Railway Industry Association’s Innovation Conference. GBR is being established ‘as ...
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NewsCarbon fibre reinforced polymer high speed train running gear frame on test
SPAIN: Talgo is developing a carbon fibre reinforced polymer composite version of its characteristic ‘rodal’ running gear frames. The company expects this will offer a 50% reduction in weight compared to using welded steel plates, with an associated cut in energy consumption and track wear as ...
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In depthUSA: Pueblo test centre comes under new management
With management of the vast TTC railway centre in Pueblo, Colorado, transferring from TTCI to ENSCO this year, future director of operations Ron Lang spoke to railway companies to dispel speculation about what the change means for the industry.
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Rail Business UKMkIV coaches donated to Fire Service College
UK: The Fire Service College has taken delivery of three redundant MkIV coaches donated by Eversholt Rail to replace older vehicles. The college at Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire trains emergency responders to deal with rail incidents. It is also working with leasing company ...
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Rail Business UKShape-changing wayfinding and self-deploying flood barriers among innovation funding recipients
UK: Shape-changing passenger wayfinding technology and self-deploying flood barriers are among the 51 projects awarded a share of £1·95m of Department for Transport funding under the Transport Research & Innovation Grant programme. TRIG is run by the Department for Transport and Connected Places Catapult to bring ...
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Rail Business UKFreight Terminals of the Future theme for fourth SME challenge
UK: Derby-based industry group Rail Forum has announced its fourth SME Challenge, which will focus on Freight Terminals of the Future and ‘working smarter, not harder’. The Challenges form part of the Rail Supply Group’s Rail Sector Deal Midlands Pilots, providing opportunities for SMEs to develop ...
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Rail Business UKGraduate scheme aims to tackle the rail industry’s ‘talent vacuum’
UK: Rail contractor QTS Group has launched a graduate scheme to help develop talent and position the industry as an attractive career choice for young people. Following a pilot in 2021, QTS Group is now recruiting graduates for the programme across several offices, including South Lanarkshire ...
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Rail Business UKRail research institute opens motion simulation and pantograph behaviour laboratories
UK: The Institute of Railway Research at Huddersfield University has opened two more laboratories with a focus on full-train motion simulation and the study of pantograph-catenary behaviour. IRR is the specialist hub for rolling stock R&D within the UK Rail Research & Innovation Network, and has ...
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NewsCAF to develop Saudi rail expertise
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia Railways has awarded CAF a €200m, five-year contract to maintain and support the trainsets it supplied for the North–South Railway and Riyadh – Dammam routes and to develop local technical competencies. SAR’s depot facilities will be adapted to undertake the overhaul of ...
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NewsEurope’s Rail research programme issues first call for proposals
EUROPE: The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking that is co-ordinating EU railway research over the next decade has issued its first call for proposals, under which it will provide €234m to back rail innovation projects worth €390m.
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NewsFirst cohort of Saudi women begins train driver training
SAUDI ARABIA: After receiving 28 000 applications from women for 30 high speed train driving vacancies, Renfe is about to begin training the successful candidates. According to the Spanish operator, the first trains to be driven by Saudi women should be running between Makkah and Madinah ...