GERMANY: A total of 34 000 wagons, or half of DB Cargo’s fleet, have now been equipped with telematics and smart sensors, the operator announced on August 27. All 68 000 wagons are scheduled to be equipped by 2020. The retrofitting programme is being carried out at Seelze near Hannover in

USA: OmniTRAX has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Cleveland Commercial Railroad and its wholly owned subsidiary Cleveland Harbor Belt Railroad for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close by the end of August, with the CCRL to be renamed as the Cleveland & Cuyahoga Railway and

GERMANY: The Rhein-Ruhr and Westfalen-Lippe transport authorities have awarded incumbent NordWestBahn the Emscher-Münsterland-Netz 2021 contract, which covers the operation of service RE14 Essen-Steele – Dorsten – Borken/Coesfeld for seven years from the December 2021 timetable change. The Transdev subsidiary is to lease Bombardier Transportation Talent diesel multiple-units from Alpha Trains to

Ministers ‘told HS2 was over-budget three years ago’, according to documents seen by the BBC. Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Wire Ministers knew HS2 was over-budget at least three years ago, it has been reported. The warning was given in May 2016, two months after legislation for the first stretch of the

MINISTERS knew three years ago that the costs of HS2 were going to be higher than the official figure of £55.7 billion, according to reports.It is said that documents seen by the BBC admit that the budget was not enough, although the DfT has continued to maintain that the project

TURKEY: The Körfez Ulaştırma rail transport subsidiary of oil refiner Tüpraş has awarded Stadler a contract to supply seven Eurodual electro-diesel locomotives from 2021, along with an eight-year full service maintenance agreement. Stadler said the order announced on August 27 was its first contract in Turkey, and they would be the

OVERHAUL of the Dartmouth Steam Railway’s GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 Goliath by the East Somerset Railway reached a key stage on July 23 when the loco’s No. 4 boiler was reunited with the frames. Re-tubing of the boiler was completed at the end of May and, following a successful

THE loss of on-hire No. 7802 Bradley Manor with a damaged cylinder casting (see separate story on p71) has been tempered somewhat for the West Somerset Railway with the return to service of 2-6-0 No. 9351. Back in revenue-earning service:  2-6-0 No. 9351 enters Crowcombe Heathfield station with the 12.40 Bishops Lydeard-Minehead service

Photo: Robert Falconer The US Government is suing one of the country’s top steam-operated railways for $25million, claiming a spark from a coal-fired locomotive started one of the worst wildfires seen in 2018. Last month, the US Attorney’s Office in Denver began legal action against the Durango & Silverton

UK: The government has announced the allocation of grants from its Housing Infrastructure Fund to transport projects which are intended to facilitate the development of new homes. This includes £80·8m for the Greater London Authority’s East London Line – Growth Capacity programme to support the development of 14 000 new homes in