Everything we read, routed to your cluster

Transport for Greater Manchester will start redeveloping Bury Interchange later this month in two phases. The first phase includes a new footbridge, lift access to Metrolink platforms, platform resurfacing, canopy replacement, and upgrades to lighting, signage, CCTV, passenger information displays and ticketing facilities.

Amtrak has launched its Winter Wanderlust sale, offering up to 30% off fares on U.S. routes for travel between 1 December 2026 and 14 March 2027. The sale runs until 12 November and applies to Coach and Acela Business Class bookings.

Holmatro says it has developed and supplied rerailing hydraulic systems for trains, metros and trams over the past decade, with deployments in countries including the Netherlands, Australia, the United States, Spain, China and Thailand. It highlights lighter aluminum components, remote control, and safety features for faster recovery after derailments.

KORAIL won the 2026 UIC Sustainability Impact Awards’ Modal Shift category for its “Love Regional Rail Travel” initiative, which promotes rail tourism with local partners and a 50% fare discount. The programme launched in August 2024 and had about 470,000 passengers by July 2026.

Parsons, with Systra and Egis in the RMTC joint venture, has been awarded project and construction management services for the Riyadh Metro Red Line Extension in Saudi Arabia. The 8.4-km extension will add five stations and connect King Saud University to Diriyah South.

Opinion piece on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), saying the project is approaching a defining moment in Malaysia’s infrastructure development and discussing benefits for passengers.

Siemens Mobility will supply three Pioneer 220 high-speed trains for California under a USD 772.1 million contract, with options included.

Sydney Metro Southwest has opened passenger services, completing Sydney’s 66 km metro line with 31 stations. Alstom supplied Metropolis trains, Urbalis CBTC signalling and maintenance services for the extension, and also maintains the fleet at Metro Trains Sydney’s Tallawong depot.

Transport for Wales has opened consultation on Swansea Bay Metro proposals, including a possible new Cockett station, a reopened platform at Swansea, and more frequent services between Swansea, Pembrey & Burry Port, and possibly Ammanford via Neath. Comments are open until 13 December 2026.

Great Northern will double off-peak train frequency between Moorgate and Hertford North from 14 December. Services will run every 15 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, with faster running into London and limited stops at Bayford and Crews Hill.

The Hampton Kempton Waterworks Railway in Middlesex will run Santa Specials on 12-13 and 19-20 December, with tickets booked in advance. The article also notes the railway won a 2023 HRA Infrastructure Award for a new coach shed and maintenance facility.

SYSTRA, as part of the RMTC joint venture led by Parsons, has been awarded PMCM consultancy for the Riyadh Metro Red Line extension in Saudi Arabia. The project will add 5.4 km, eight stations, mostly underground tunnels, and connect Diriyah to the wider network.

Transport for Wales has proposed a Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro with new stations, extra services, a new platform at Swansea, track links and signalling-related enabling works. Phase A and Phase B plans are open for public feedback until 13 December 2026, with funding still to be secured.

Network Rail will spend £1.75m to renew 1,300 metres of track, sleepers and ballast on a bridge between Rishton and Accrington in East Lancashire. The East Lancashire line will close on 22, 28 and 29 November, with rail replacement buses operating during the work.

Track work and tamping at Mossley Hill will affect most train services at Liverpool Lime Street on Sunday, 8 November. Avanti West Coast will divert via Earlestown, while several other operators will terminate short or run amended services. Merseyrail services are unaffected.

CFL multimodal launched an intermodal rail service between Bettembourg-Dudelange and Wrocław on 20 October 2026, operating four round trips per week. It also increased its Bettembourg–Lübeck service from three to four weekly round trips after recent operational disruption.

Hitachi Rail marked the opening of the first operational section of Chennai Metro Phase II, a 15 km, 11-station elevated corridor powered by its CBTC signalling for GoA4 driverless operation. The wider Phase II signalling contract, awarded in 2023, covers 119 km of metro lines.

Great Northern will increase off-peak services between Moorgate and Hertford North to four trains per hour from 14 December, creating a 15-minute turn-up-and-go frequency at most stations on the route.

Bay Area voters are backing Measure RTM, a 14-year transit sales tax for operators including BART, Caltrain and AC Transit. Preliminary results suggest it will prevent BART’s planned 2027 station closures and major service cuts, though BART still says a structural funding gap remains.

Maersk is launching a twice-weekly intermodal rail service between Haparanda on the Swedish-Finnish border and APM Terminals Gothenburg, with plans to increase frequency to six round trips per week. The electric rail link will move containerised freight from northern Sweden and Finland to Gothenburg for onward ocean connections, including Asia.

Berlin-based Rail Unit received a Stadler EuroDual and an Alstom TRAXX MS3 in October 2026 as it expands from railway personnel services into its own freight operations in Germany. The locomotives were leased from European Loc Pool and Northrail, following the company’s railway undertaking licence and safety certification.

Network Rail will renew more than 4 km of track and carry out maintenance and bridge works on Scotland’s West Highland Line between Helensburgh, Fort William and Mallaig from 6 to 17 November. The work will disrupt services, with replacement buses provided on affected sections.

Amtrak says Thanksgiving travel will set another record and will add Northeast Regional cars from November 20 to 30, plus two extra Washington–New York round trips on November 24–25 and 28–29. It also says 15 NextGen Acela trains are now in service and Amtrak Cascades is using Airo trains on four daily trips.

At InnoTrans 2026, Vossloh launched new fastening systems for conventional, high-speed and urban rail, and added TrackStability software functions for track-buckling risk. The company also won about EUR 60 million in rail fastening contracts for two high-speed lines in Shandong, China, with deliveries from 2027.

TfL and Time Out released London After Dark, a report on how the Night Tube has supported London’s night-time economy. The study found 88% of surveyed Londoners stayed out later because public transport was available, and London was ranked first among 26 European cities for nightlife and public transport.