Hitachi Rail signed a contract to supply railway signalling systems for the T26 tunnel and Bilecik depot on Turkey’s Ankara–Istanbul line.
ScotRail will add extra carriages and staff, and manage queuing at Haymarket, for the Scotland v New Zealand rugby international at Murrayfield on 7 November 2026. Services on several routes are expected to be very busy, and passengers are advised to buy tickets in advance.
Robin Hood Line Community Partnership published its 2025 annual report, covering community engagement, rail safety education, station adoption, active travel, and local projects on the Nottinghamshire line. It also noted an award-winning Fusion Learning initiative and various community events and school visits.
Siemens Mobility and Lufthansa Technik Defense have proposed a medical evacuation train for more than 150 patients, including intensive-care cases. The concept uses Vectouro coaches and a Vectron X locomotive, with a dual-mode option under consideration, for cross-border use on Europe’s standard-gauge network.
Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society and Vintage Trains Charitable Trust have formed a partnership to mark the society’s 75th anniversary. The collaboration was highlighted by twinning two Birmingham-built carriages during a heritage steam special. The Talyllyn Railway also received a £3.7m National Lottery Heritage Fund grant in January for engineering facility upgrades.
Singapore and Malaysia conducted a joint exercise simulating a fire on a stranded Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS Link train. The drill tested firefighting, triage, casualty evacuation, and cross-border command and communication ahead of passenger operations targeted for February 2027.
Batley station in West Yorkshire has been upgraded with a new footbridge and lifts, replacing the subway to provide step-free access as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. Further works, including waiting shelters and car park reopening, will continue into spring 2027.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said a train not in service hit the buffers at London Liverpool Street on 15 October 2026 at about 7 mph, derailing the first three carriages and damaging the train and buffer stop. A safety digest will follow.
Alstom announced the first ETCS Level 2 passenger service in Romania, using a Traxx Passenger electric locomotive and ETCS Level 2 trackside infrastructure between Buftea and Brazi on the Bucharest–Budapest line. The service began after the locomotives entered passenger operation in September 2026.
A coal train derailed near Otira on New Zealand’s Midland Line, damaging the track and rolling stock and prompting a TAIC investigation. TranzAlpine passenger services are cut back to Arthur’s Pass with bus connections to Greymouth until an estimated Nov. 20.
CPKC signed a five-year agreement to increase steelmaking coal shipments from British Columbia to Vancouver export terminals. CN expanded its Vaughan, Ontario fuel terminal to handle more than 15,000 railcars a year. Audi chose a Norfolk Southern-served site in Georgia for a EUR 3.6 billion factory.
TRC Synergy said its subsidiary has a 30% interest in a joint venture awarded the RM2.69 billion Penang LRT CMC2 package. The five-year contract covers design and construction of a 5.5km sea-crossing viaduct, a navigation span, an elevated station and related works for the Mutiara Line.
Network Rail has appointed Hawkins\Brown, working with 5th Studio, to lead a masterplan for Oxford station. The plan will assess new entrances, improved onward travel links and capacity upgrades as passenger numbers rise, driven partly by East West Rail and other service increases.
ČD has launched a tender to sell six Taurus locomotives, offered individually or as a package with spare parts. The three-system units were built in 2007–2011, reach 230 km/h, and are approved for several Central European countries; two have ETCS, while two have Polish SHP equipment.
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.
Leighton Buzzard Railway in Bedfordshire has announced a lineup of 2027 heritage railway events, including a Chaloner 150th birthday celebration, Easter activities, themed family days, a beer festival, and Christmas events. Full details will be posted on its website.
Opinion piece argues that ECRL’s high cost, loan burden and limited ridership or cargo capacity make its financial return doubtful, and says its value should be judged by wider economic spillovers rather than operating profits.
Poland’s rail freight market grew 2.7% in the first nine months of 2026 to 164.99 million tonnes, with tonne-kilometres up 6.7%. Intermodal traffic rose strongly, while mining-related freight fell. PKP Cargo remained the largest operator, and freight punctuality weakened in Q2.
VIA Rail Canada completed the modernisation of its Toronto Maintenance Centre, funded by a US$310 million Government of Canada investment. The upgraded facility supports maintenance of VIA Rail’s new Corridor fleet of 32 bidirectional trainsets and existing equipment, with expanded bays, heavy-maintenance tools and a new vehicle monitoring system.
Southeastern held its annual Remembrance Service in Dover on 4 November, with veterans, cadets and railway colleagues attending. The operator also reminded veterans, serving personnel and bereaved family members that they can travel to Remembrance services for free.
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.
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.
Porterbrook and GB Railfreight have signed a deal for 56 new MWA box wagons to be built by WH Davis in Nottinghamshire. The first wagon is due for completion by September 2027, and the wagons will carry recycled material to 7Steel’s Cardiff site.
Renfe has awarded Siemens a contract for 30 seven-car Velaro Novo high-speed trains. The trains will run up to 350 km/h, seat 520 passengers each, and be delivered over 62 months, with the first five due within 40 months.
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.