Alstom is celebrating after it successfully delivered Stage 2 of the Cambridge Resignalling, Relock and Recontrol (C3R) project. This milestone marks a major step forward in modernising the region’s railway infrastructure, enhancing safety, reliability, and capacity for passengers and operators. Over the festive period, Alstom teams worked around the clock...

Railways are inherently highly energy efficient and have a unique ability to use high-powered electric traction. This makes them a particularly carbon friendly transport mode. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per passenger from a domestic flight are 27 times those of an electric train. Per tonne km, HGV GHG emissions...

Digitalisation is rapidly reshaping how railways are monitored, managed, and maintained, and the need for shared understanding across borders has never been greater. Against this backdrop, the Wayside Digitalisation Forum 2025 in Vienna, Austria offered a dedicated platform for infrastructure managers, suppliers, and technical specialists to explore the latest...

A reception held at the House of Commons on 27 October celebrated the Railway Mission’s work and unveiled a new training initiative to provide mental health support for rail staff. The event, hosted by Lillian Greenwood MP and sponsored by Net Company, underscored the Mission’s essential role in supporting...

ScotRail currently operates 145 diesel and 203 electric trains, two thirds of which are approaching the end of their usable life. These operate InterCity services between Glasgow or Edinburgh to Aberdeen or Inverness, suburban services generally in Scotland’s central belt, and rural services including Scotland’s scenic routes. In November, Transport...

In 2024, aviation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 38 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent gases (MtCO2e). In addition, the global warming effect of aircraft contrails is at least as harmful as GHG emissions. Aviation now accounts for 8% of UK GHG emissions which makes it the UK’s sixth...

Rail vehicle drivers need information telling them when to move and where to stop. For the majority of railways this is achieved using lineside signals. Lineside signals consist of visual devices (coloured lights, mechanical devices, signs) positioned at pre-determined locations at the lineside for the driver to see and...

As the industry waits for FRMCS to arrive, rail operators face a growing need for smarter, real-time connectivity. Siemens Mobility explains how today’s technology can unlock tomorrow’s digital benefits without the long wait. Creating a real-time datalink between trains and rail infrastructure offers a powerful opportunity to improve railway performance.A...

George Stephenson, engineer of the Stockton and Darlington railway, is renowned for his early steam locomotives. Yet, in 1847, the year before his death, he advised a visitor that "I have the credit of being the inventor of the steam locomotive, but I tell you, young man, I shall...

Network Rail considers the West Coast Main Line (WCML) to be the busiest mixed traffic railway in Europe. It carries 125mph passenger trains from London to the West Midlands, North West, and Scotland and is used by 90% of intermodal UK rail freight which has a maximum speed of...

In Issue 195 (Mar-April 2022) and Issue 196 (May-Jun 2022), Rail Engineer reported on a February 2022 IMechE event which featured several case studies on rolling stock cracks and fractures. In his keynote address at a similar event in September 2025, Andrew Skinner, head of engineering at Great Western Railway...