Global Railway Review Weekly News Roundup

Welcome to the Global Railway Review weekly news round-up. There were constant breaking news developments in the rail industry throughout the past week, with HS2 being a constant fixture. The company announced the launch of a search for a manager to run its new public-private capital investment fund for innovation, as well as the opening of applications for innovative tech start-ups to join its successful Innovation Accelerator programme. Network Rail were also heavily featured last week, with the announcement that aerial drones and specialist trains will be used to wash leaf debris from UK main lines during the Autumn and the ORR’s publication of a report on Network Rail’s efficiency and wider financial performance for 2021-2022. Over in North America sustainability was a popular topic, with Union Pacific revealing plans to expand its fleet of rail yard maintenance and field task electric vehicles to support its net-zero emission goals.

Check out more of the biggest stories from the past week below!

Go-Ahead to deploy brand-new 1,000-seat Siemens electric trains in Bavaria

In exciting sustainability news, passengers in Bavaria will now benefit from a fleet of brand-new Siemens electric trains, which offer as many as 1,000 seats onboard, when Go-Ahead begins rail operations on a busy commuter network in December. Go-Ahead’s German rail company, Go-Ahead Bahn and Bus, will take on operation of six lines in the Munich area on 11 December. The contract, which is Go-Ahead’s fifth in Germany, runs for 12 years. Read the full story here.

USDOT to expand financing programme for infrastructure projects

USDOT announced the expansion of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act programme to help project sponsors reduce costs and speed the delivery of infrastructure projects, which saves taxpayer dollars and improves transportation in communities. Read the full story here.

Oman-UAE rail network project discussed at inaugural meeting

The Oman Rail-Etihad Rail JV Company Board of Directors held an inaugural meeting which discussed the implementation plans and technical studies to progress development of a joint railway network between the two countries. Read the full story here.

Three companies nominated for 2nd tender round of Rail Baltica mainline in Latvia

Rail Balitica announced that three companies from Italy, France, and Spain have been nominated for the 2nd round of construction supervision services for the Rail Baltica main line. Find out which companies were nominated here.

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