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At IRSC Lisbon 2026, UIC presented work on safety culture, cyber resilience, risk assessment harmonisation, wayside monitoring, AI for level crossings, and safety management for Portugal’s future Lisbon-Porto high-speed line. The conference highlighted international cooperation on railway safety and innovation.

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.

Network Rail completed drainage renewal and related maintenance on the East Coast Main Line in North Yorkshire after two weekend possessions. The programme included 300 metres of drainage at Chapman’s Bridge near Shipton, work on track, power lines and points, vegetation management, and a new bridge at Church Fenton for overhead line preparation.

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.

An opinion piece says the ECRL is nearing a defining moment in Malaysia, with passenger service due to start on 12 December 2026. It highlights expected travel-time savings, dynamic fare pricing, concessions and the importance of first- and last-mile connectivity around stations.

Services between Leeds and York resumed after a nine-day closure for TransPennine Route Upgrade works. The works included replacing Common Lane Bridge at Church Fenton, installing new power lines for future electrification, and other track, overhead line and drainage upgrades on the East Coast Main Line.

Porterbrook will supply 56 new box wagons to GB Railfreight, with the wagons built by WH Davis in Nottinghamshire. The fleet is due to start completion in September 2027 and will be used to move recycled material to 7Steel’s Cardiff site for UK steel production.

Australia’s ARTC reported faster Sydney–Melbourne freight times after network maintenance works. Inland Rail started track laying on the Illabo–Stockinbingal section, Queensland Rail announced freight incentives from January 2027, Western Australia advanced legislation to buy back its freight network, and Transport for NSW opened an EOI for new electric multiple units under the Future Fleet programme.

HS2 reached a tunnel breakthrough at Old Oak Common station, linking the station box to the 8.8-mile West Ruislip tunnel portal. The 360-metre tunnel, excavated with miners rather than TBMs, used sprayed concrete and cast-in-situ lining. HS2 says other major route works are also progressing ahead of plan.

Danish State Railways awarded ELL a EUR 26.35 million lease contract for up to 12 Siemens Vectron AC locomotives for regional and long-distance passenger services. The contract includes maintenance, spare parts and availability support, with initial entry into service expected from December 2026.

Indian Railways freight loading rose 8.32% year over year to 145.07 million tonnes in October 2026, the best October on record. Growth was led by food grains and domestic coal. April–October freight loading reached 978.78 million tonnes, up 4.67% from a year earlier; passenger traffic also increased.

Azerbaijan Railways signed a contract with CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive to buy four new passenger trains.

ÖBB and SBB extended their passenger rail cooperation to 2036, covering more than 30 daily direct services and six night train routes from Zürich. Passenger numbers on the joint services have grown strongly over the past decade, alongside ÖBB’s rollout of new Siemens-built Nightjet trains.

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.

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.

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.

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 Transport Minister said the East Coast Rail Link is projected to generate RM418 million in operating revenue from passenger and cargo services by 2029.

UK Railtours will run December trips in East Anglia, London and Kent using paired Class 37 locomotives. Swietelsky and Europhoenix will provide traction, RailAdventure will operate the locomotives, and Eastern Rail Services will provide Mark 2 coaches. Tickets are available through the UK Railtours website.

Ports & Rail Week 2026 will be held on 24-25 November 2026 in Durban, South Africa. The event will focus on port and rail infrastructure, intermodal connectivity, green transport, digitalization, AI, automation, PPPs, and safety in African transport corridors.

Pune Metro Line 3, a 23.2-km PPP corridor linking Hinjawadi and Shivajinagar, opened on 3 November as the first metro project under India’s 2017 New Metro Rail Policy. Siemens supplied systems integration, CBTC, electrification and depot equipment; Alstom supplied 22 three-car trainsets.

Kelantan plans industrial and logistics development around the ECRL station in Cherang Tuli, Pasir Puteh, including processing industries, warehousing, a logistics hub and a proposed dry port in Bandar Baru Tok Bali. The state also wants supporting roads, distribution centres and last-mile logistics facilities.

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.

Hitachi Rail Spain and Hitachi Rail Turkey signed a contract to supply, install and commission signalling systems on Turkey’s Ankara-Istanbul line at T26 and Bilecik depot. The scope includes interlockings, the Traffic Control Centre, telecommunications expansion, and ETCS Level 1 and 2.

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.