High speed rail industry news
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NewsCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority names next CEO
USA: The California High-Speed Rail Authority board has appointed Ian Choudri as the next CEO.. His start date is still to be confirmed. He will succeed Brian Kelly, who has led the authority for six years and announced earlier in the year that he intends to ...
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NewsMoroccan high speed line extension support contract awarded
MOROCCO: National railway ONCF has appointed a Franco-Moroccan consortium of Egis, Systra and Novec to provide project management assistance services to support the development of the Kénitra – Marrakech high speed line. The contract announced by the consortium on August 1 covers project management, operations master ...
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NewsSurveillance stepped up following French high speed rail sabotage
FRANCE: Surveillance of the rail network has been stepped up using human and technical resources on the ground and in the air following the large-scale disruption caused by carefully targeted sabotage on July 26, the opening day of the Paris Olympic Games. Around 1 000 maintenance ...
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NewsŁódź high speed rail tunnel construction tenders called
POLAND: The CPK project has called tenders for the construction of 4·6 km tunnel in Łódź which will be a key element of the Y-shaped high speed line between Warszawa, the future national hub airport, Wrocław and Poznań. The 14 m diameter double-track tunnel to be ...
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NewsTrain driver and head of safety convicted over Santiago de Compostela derailment
SPAIN: It was ‘incomprehensible’ that a high speed line equipped with ERTMS would not have it installed at a location where a speed restriction meant it was so obviously required, the judge said when a criminal court reached its verdict on the July 24 2013 derailment of a Class 730 Alvia train.
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NewsAnkara – Istanbul high speed line to be protected against landslides
TURKEY: Infrastructure manager TCDD has awarded construction company IC İçtaş a TL707·6m contract to rebuild and reinforce a section of the Ankara – Istanbul high speed line in the Bilecik area which is prone to flooding and landslides. In 2019 a section of trackbed was washed ...
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NewsAgreement to cut Californian rail project red tape
USA: The California State Transportation Agency and California High-Speed Rail Authority have renewed a 2019 agreement under which the state has taken on the Federal Railroad Administration’s environmental review responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act. California is the only state with NEPA assignment for rail ...
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Rail Business UKCancellation of HS2 Phase 2 may force demand management on trains north of Birmingham, NAO says
UK: The cancellation of Phase 2 of High Speed 2 means the programme will now not address the capacity issues on the West Coast Main Line north of Birmingham, according to the National Audit Office. The NAO warns that improving existing infrastructure may be expensive and ...
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Rail Business UK‘TBM in a can’ plan makes progress at HS2 site in west London
UK: Construction of HS2 Ltd’s Green Park Way ventilation shaft at Greenford in west London has entered a crucial phase, as preparations ramp up ahead of the arrival and subsequent recovery of four tunnel boring machines at the site. The TBMs are excavating the 13·5 km ...
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Rail Business UKInnovation funding supports sustainable decommissioning of HS2 worksites
UK: HS2 Ltd is to work with SMEs Infinitive Group Ltd and Material Index as part of its efforts to sustainably ‘deconstruct’ worksites along the 225 km of high speed railway being built between London and the West Midlands. The two companies will work with the ...
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In depthEurope: Rail Baltica makes progress despite cost increase
Construction of the long-planned 1 435 mm gauge north-south rail corridor through the Baltic States is ramping up rapidly, despite a near-trebling of the forecast cost and continuing uncertainty over some sections of the route. Toma Bačić reports from Tallinn.
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NewsUIC World Congress on High Speed Rail to be held in Beijing
CHINA: The International Union of Railways and China Railway have announced that the 12th World Congress on High Speed Rail will take place in Beijing on July 8-11 2025, with the theme of ‘High speed rail: innovation and development for a better life’. The event is ...
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NewsStudy looks at how to increase international capacity at London St Pancras
EUROPE: High speed line concessionaire HS1 Ltd has appointed ‘experience design’ agency Active Thinking to undertake an in-depth study into expanding passenger capacity at London St Pancras International station to cope with increased demand for international travel and the potential arrival of competitors to Eurostar. Eurostar ...
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NewsAustralasian rail industry study tour to visit London and Paris
INTERNATIONAL: The Australasian Railway Association is organising a study tour to London and Paris the week before InnoTrans, to provide delegates with insights into topics including interoperability, high speed rail, sustainability, infrastructure development and operations, as well as networking opportunities with industry leaders. The London leg ...
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NewsPoland recommits to CPK high speed rail programme
POLAND: Prime Minister Donald Tusk has recommitted his government to implementing the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny high speed rail and airport programme. When the current government came to power at the end of last year it quickly initiated a review of the previous administration’s plans for the ...
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NewsCalifornia high speed line track and electrification design contract awarded
USA: The California High-Speed Rail Authority has appointed a joint venture of Systra and Typsa to design the track and overhead electrification for the initial section of the line. The contract has an initial value of up to $131·2m. It covers the production of high-level designs ...
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NewsUlm – Augsburg new line alignment identified
GERMANY: DB InfraGO has selected its preferred option for reconstruction of the Ulm – Augsburg section of its Stuttgart – München main line.
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NewsLow-cost high speed train operator Ouigo aims to double ridership
FRANCE: National passenger operator SNCF Voyageurs is aiming to double ridership at its low-cost subsidiary Ouigo to 50 million passengers/year by 2030, and to increase Ouigo’s share of the domestic high speed rail market from 20% to 30%.
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NewsUzbekistan signs South Korean high speed train order
UZBEKISTAN: Hyundai Rotem’s first order to export high speed trainsets was amongst several co-operation agreements signed during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on June 14. Plans for the 270bn won order for Hyundai Rotem and South Korean operator Korail ...
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NewsHow to launch a US high speed rail project
USA: The US High Speed Rail Association has published a ‘first-of-its-kind action plan’ designed to equip advocates with practical tips, realistic expectations and strategic support as they work to launch new projects for 300+ km/h railways. High-Speed Rail Project Initiation: A Roadmap for Advocates focuses on ...