Railway Technology

1 week ago | railway-technology.com | Alejandro Gonzalez |Alejandro González

The King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament has signalled a significant shift in Britain’s railway sector, with Labour’s reform agenda aiming to renationalise passenger rail services. Labour plans to complete this transformation by 2029, leveraging break clauses in existing contracts to accelerate the process. The forthcoming legislation will also establish Great British Railways (GBR) as a new public body to oversee the country’s railways.

3 weeks ago | railway-technology.com | Patrick Atack

DB Cargo has partnered with subsidiaries of the technology and engineering firm Bosch, and the German federal government, to develop an automated heavy shunter locomotive. The fully-automated hump shunter prototype has already been tested at the Munich North marshalling yard. Bosch Engineering and ITK Engineering are the Bosch companies working with Germany’s main rail freight provider to develop the new machine.

3 weeks ago | railway-technology.com | Patrick Atack

The UK’s rail infrastructure manager Network Rail has started flying drones to monitor 20,000 miles of tracks. With its partner Drone Major Limited Network Rail trialled the technology on the Wolverhampton and Severn Valley Railway lines, and will now begin a wider roll-out. A key use of the drones and real-time picture capability they provide is “the capability to dramatically transform trespass management on UK railways,” according to Network Rail.

1 month ago | railway-technology.com | Archana Rani

A study by London TravelWatch, a statutory British consumer organisation, has revealed that paper tickets for London’s public transport are still higher than digital options, disadvantaging certain passengers. The research, conducted in collaboration with agency Lacuna, revisits issues identified in London TravelWatch’s 2023 Left Out Londoners report, which examined barriers faced by passengers without access to digital technology.

1 month ago | railway-technology.com | Peter Nilson

This was originally published on our sister site Airport Technology, but public wifi at rail stations and on trains makes the article relevant to the rail industry too. Travel is back in business. International tourism and corporate travel spending are rebounding to pre-pandemic levels. This resurgence has benefited in no small part from the rise of remote work and ‘digital nomads’.