Despite the findings of the Transport Select Committee’s (TSC) report ‘Rail Investment Pipelines: Ending Boom and Bust’, the Government does not accept that rail investment has systemic “boom and bust” cycles. The TSC considers that, (in England) electrification is a particularly acute case of this phenomenon and that laying...

On 19 May, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced updated HS2 costs and timescales following a project reset led by HS2’s CEO, Mark Wilde. The headline figures were that: HS2 will cost between £87.7 million and £102.7 million at 2025 prices. Services between Old Oak Common and Birmingham will commence between 2036...

Earthworks monitoring equipment has been installed in a cutting by the Mytholmes tunnel portal on the heritage Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (KWVR). This is the DYWIDAG Smart Guard system which continuously monitors tilt detection to provide instant alerts with real-time camera alert confirmation. Alerts are transmitted on the...

On 28 April, the Science Museum’s Information Age Gallery hosted the launch of GBRX’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan. This was opened by GBRX’s Managing Director Toufic Machnouk whose key message was that AI will not simply happen in the rail system as this requires the development of strategic...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to dramatically change and improve society and railway engineering, but there are risks and hazards associated with its use. Like any tool, AI needs to be understood, deployed, and used by competent people. The first thing is to understand what AI is and is...

The rail industry faces many challenges with cyber security being one. With everything being increasingly connected, cyber security applies to all engineering disciplines and the risk of breaches could dramatically increase following the release of Claude Mythos. Claude Mythos is a very advanced AI cyber model which can find vulnerabilities...

Nexus has been running the Tyne and Wear Metro for over 40 years. The trains have changed, the stations have been modernised, and passenger expectations have shifted enormously. Now, the control technology running behind the scenes has caught up. There is a version of infrastructure renewal that gets a lot...

The drive towards electrification is creating new opportunities but also increases the complexity of infrastructure projects. New traction power systems, substations, protection equipment, and control systems must all work together seamlessly before a railway can enter service. Ensuring that happens safely and efficiently is at the heart of WJ...

High-capacity commuter railways are only possible with the power that only electric trains can provide. The typical acceleration of an electric multiple unit (EMU) is 1 m/s2 which is over twice the typical 0.4 m/s2 acceleration of a diesel multiple unit (DMU). Hence, on a line with frequent stops,...

Rail Live 2026 comes at a time when the railway is under growing pressure to deliver more with less. Siemens Mobility is using this year’s event to demonstrate how technology can help create a better performing railway at a lower cost. Helen Davis, director of strategy and business development at...

This year, the annual technical tour organised by the IMechE’s Railway Division started in Belfast on Saturday 2 May. This eight-day tour visited sites of interest in Ireland before taking a ferry from Cork to Britanny to see three quite different light rail systems in Northwest France. Malcolm Dobell and...