Global Railway Review Weekly News Roundup

Welcome to Global Railway Review’s Weekly News Roundup. There were lots of exciting breaking news developments in the rail industry over the past week, particularly in the area of sustainability, with both Norfolk Southern and Amtrak releasing separate reports which highlighted the progress being made in meeting short- and long-term sustainability goals. It was also a good week for the METRONET project in Australia, with the ARA welcoming the announcement of the 9 October 2022 opening date of the Forrestfield-Airport Link, followed by Alstom’s confirmation that the six-car C-Series train specifically built for the METRONET will begin dynamic testing shortly.

Check out more of the biggest news stories from the past week below:

USDOT award over $233m to upgrade intercity passenger rail

In big United States news, The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded over $233 million to 11 rail projects in eight states to improve and modernise vital intercity passenger rail services. These investments will help replace infrastructure along the Northeast Corridor in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Connecticut. Additional funds will help to increase the safety, reliability, and sustainability of rail infrastructure in California, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Chicago. Read more here.

Etihad Rail welcome the first of its new state-of-the-art fleet of trains

Etihad Rail reached a new milestone in the development of the National Rail Network, with the arrival of first batches of the company’s new and advanced rolling stock fleet. The state-of-the-art fleet consists of EMD^® SD70 locomotives and multipurpose wagons capable of transporting all sorts of goods via rail. Read more here.

SNCF order 15 more Avelia Horizon very high-speed trains from Alstom

Alstom received an additional order for 15 new-generation Avelia Horizon very high-speed trains from SNCF Voyageurs, worth almost €590 million. The Avelia Horizon locomotives are new generation 4-voltage high-speed trains, consisting of two innovative short-length, high-performance compact-power cars, and articulated double-deck coaches. Their design also allows for a 20 per cent increase in passenger capacity. Read more here.

ÖBB achieves impressive ESG sustainability ratings

In even more positive sustainability news, ÖBB announced impressive ESG sustainability ratings. Five ÖBB sub-companies all scored “very good” in their ESG ratings, and each showed improvements in all areas of environment, social and corporate governance when compared to the previous year. Read more here.

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