Deutsche Bahn: wi-fi a basic need for travellers
German national railway company Deutsche Bahn has recognised wi-fi connection as a basic need for travellers. To this end, it launched a major investment programme to provide this…
Remote-controlled shunting on tests in Switzerland
An obstacle detection system is being tested on tracks in Switzerland. It enables to control the shunting operations from a remote location. If the trials will be successful,…
Finnish Railways implements future-oriented solution for staff
After optimising its ticketing policy, Finnish incumbent railway company VR Group has focused on improving internal operational processes. To this end, the national operator implemented a new, future-oriented…
Improving safety at level crossings via mobile app
Mobile applications have already become popular among railway operators. They could also be useful for infrastructure managers. Infrastruktura železnice Srbije, the state-owned entity that owns and maintains railway…
Railways digitise catering services
Railway undertakings are paying more and more attention to self-service digital services. Tickets purchased via mobile apps or online shops have already become the rule for passengers. As…
Network Rail shifts to paperless processes
UK’s infrastructure manager Network Rail intends to transform its operational processes in 2021. Most of the planning, risk assessment issues and management reports will become paperless. To this…
Digital twin for locomotive diesel engines
Sinara Group, a major engineering holding in Russia, completed the validation tests of a digital twin of the 6DM-185T locomotive diesel engine. It is the first stage of…
Germany accelerates digitalisation of railways
Railway lines in Germany will be equipped with digital interlocking technology by 2035, five years ahead of the original schedule. The country’s government will allocate 500 million euros…
Deutsche Bahn monitors trackside trees from space
Satellites can be a powerful means for the maintenance of rail infrastructure. To examine this, Deutsche Bahn (DB) is making shots of trackside trees from space. Thus the…
Britain develops innovations for electrified railways
Several British engineering companies developed or are developing new products related to the electrification of railways. They will optimise the interaction between pantograph units and catenary systems as…
Substantial challenges for 5G deployment on rails
5G is vital to foster further development and digital transformation of the rail sector. European rail manufacturers appreciate this communication technology in implementing new signalling solutions and Automatic…
UK open-access operators coming back to life
Britain’s non-franchised railway companies were on the verge of extinction for four months. Now the situation has changed for the better. While Hull Trains is just returning on…
Continuous integration to speed up ETCS development
To intensify the ETCS development, The Signalling Company from Belgium decided to apply continuous integration, a well-known practice in programming. This approach will be used in its newly…
Historic milestone for ticketing on Polish railways
Ticket offices at the train stations are losing popularity among the passengers in Poland. There were sold 46.5 per cent of train tickets via this distribution channel in…
Blockchain in rolling stock maintenance
Russian Railways (RZD) has implemented a blockchain for rolling stock maintenance. More than 100 locomotive depots all over the country are examining the technology. This allows the company…