Rail roundup: Siemens’ new UK plant, Rail Baltica’s big tender, Swiss tunnel sees light

Press release averted; it’s your daily rail roundup from RailTech! All eyes are on Yorkshire in the UK’s north, as Siemens officially opened its new rolling stock plant in Goole. Meanwhile, ÖBB has carried out a big shakeup of its supervisory board following the recent Austrian elections. And services are expected to start running regularly again on one of the world’s longest land tunnels. Find out about all this and more – with some sneaky links to our recent analysis – through today’s big rail headlines.

Siemens Mobility opens new rolling stock plant in the UK

One of the biggest rail stories this week has been Siemens Mobility opening its new 238-million-euro rolling stock factory in the UK. The train manufacturing facility is the first part of the Goole Rail Village, where Siemens will soon start centring its UK operations. The first order for the new plant will be the assembly of rolling stock for the London Underground’s Piccadilly line. The capital’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the new facility will create up to 900 direct jobs and support another 1,700 in the supply chain. At least 80 per cent of the new London Underground trains are set to be assembled at the northern site. Siemens has also pledged an additional 48 million euros towards a bogie assembly and service centre. Check out RailTech’s full story on the new plant from our UK rail expert Simon Walton here.

Rail Baltic Estonia launches massive tender for Rail Baltica mainline

Rail Baltic Estonia has launched a huge infrastructure tender, valued at up to 932 million euros, for the construction of the Rail Baltica mainline. Part of the massive project to integrate the Baltics further into the EU rail network, the tender will result in two contracts for building the railway between Ülemiste and Pärnu, as well as Pärnu and the Latvian border. The first contract is estimated at 394 million euros, and includes work on the substructure for Estonia’s Tootsi–Pärnu section. The second, valued at approximately 332 million euros, will encompass the design and construction of the Pärnu–Ikla area, completing the mainline. Construction is set to start from 2026 through to the end of 2030. So why is Estonia such a hotspot for rail right now? Find out more on the topic (and why you should come to our November conference in Tallinn) here.

Major shakeup of Austria’s ÖBB Supervisory Board

Austria’s ÖBB is shaking up its management. Brigitte Ederer took over as Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of ÖBB Holding yesterday after her predecessor Andrea Reithmayer resigned over the weekend. She had been expected to continue in her role until the middle of next year, but will now move into a mid-management position at ÖBB infrastructure. Ederer, who held the same position for four years a decade ago, and has also served as CEO at Siemens AG Austria and held several high-profile political roles, is now back in the driving seat. Meanwhile, Austria’s Ministry for Climate, Energy, and Mobility has appointed Cornelia Breuß as a new member of the Supervisory Board. She was responsible for the introduction of the yearly “KlimaTicket” in Austria. All this is happening just a few days after Austria’s far-right Freedom Party celebrated an unprecedented election victory.

Greater Manchester approves major rail infrastructure investment

Greater Manchester has agreed to invest millions of euros to advance its transport links, particularly its high-speed rail and Northern Powerhouse proposals. Handled by the Bee Network Committee, the investment sourced from the £1.07-billion-pound City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, will see funding for High Speed/Northern Powerhouse Rail to the tune of £1.31 million. The focus will be on updating connections from Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport, and Wigan. It will also support the Liverpool Manchester Railway Board in helping to build a business case for the new railway corridor. There’s also £4.4 million going towards the Salford Central Enhancements scheme, which includes upgrading Salford station. For more on UK rail news – and scandals – click here.

After six years, renovation of key Swiss rail tunnel (almost) complete

Work on the Lötschberg Ridge Tunnel, a key part of Switzerland’s railway network and one of the longest land tunnels in the world, is finally over. Well, almost. Over the past six years, BLS has been replacing the old gravel railway line with a modern concrete one, a project that cost 180 million francs. But by the end of the week, restrictions on train traffic will disappear. From 5 October, transport will resume at half-hourly intervals, with up to six car shuttle trains per hour able to use the line during high traffic. Although, some of the new concrete is already starting to crack. Can we expect more renovations?

Plasser & Theurer track machines: new deliveries for railway modernisation

If you missed it last week, DB InfraGO has been strengthening its machine pool in maintenance, announcing at InnoTrans ‘24 that it would rent and then buy 15 hybrid-powered maintenance vehicles designed for work on overhead lines. The track machines will help construct and maintain the German network’s catenary systems, an important factor in boosting efficiency, and will enter service by 2029. The vehicle, the CatenaryCrafter 15.4 E3, also fits with the company’s sustainability goals, as it’s electrically powered. Deutsche Bahn is desperate to upgrade its tracks as ageing infrastructure has been repeatedly blamed for slowing down its services and a major slump in its finances. But it has more money to burn now. Read our analysis here.

KeolisAmey retains DLR contract with TfL until 2033

Joint venture firm KeolisAmey will stay on as the operator of London’s DLR, having signed a new eight-year contract with Transport for London. Running the network since 2015, it will continue operations and maintenance for the light metro system until 2033. The new contract specifies key improvements though: more frequent services and capacity upgrades, work to reduce emissions, and the introduction of 54 new trains to replace 33 older ones, as well as boost the fleet size. Fare evasion and “protecting TfL’s revenue” will also be key amid reduced government funding. For more on the DLR’s recent problems with speed limits, see here.

SNCF unveils new design for Draisy lightweight battery railcar

Another reminder from InnoTrans. France’s state rail company SNCF and manufacturers Lohr recently unveiled a new design for the Draisy lightweight battery-powered trains for the country’s smaller regional lines. Made in partnership with GCK Battery, Stations-e, and French railway technology research institute Railenium, the Draisy has a maximum speed of 100 km/h and a range of 100 km. The latter can be extended by installing rapid charging facilities on station platforms. Trials of the new railcar will begin at the start of 2027 on the Sarralbe – Kalhausen line in France’s Grand Est region. Then the Draisy will likely hit the market in 2028.