About the author

David Briginshaw

David Briginshaw joined IRJ in 1982 as associate editor, and was appointed editor-in-chief in 2001. He has travelled the world extensively interviewing many of the CEOs and senior managers of the world's railways and transit systems which has given him an in-depth knowledge of the global railway industry. David Briginshaw is currently consulting editor and associate publisher of IRJ.

July 21, 2015 | Australia/NZ

Australia launches railway research centre

THE Australian government and the country's railway industry have launched the Rail Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (RMCRC), a collaboration between industry organisations, research universities and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

July 21, 2015 | High-speed

Eurostar unveils refurbished high-speed train

EUROSTAR has finally completed the refurbishment of the first train from its existing fleet of class 373 trains (dubbed e300 by Eurostar) and the train will re-enter service shortly.

July 17, 2015 | Track

Tasrail invites bids for track upgrading scheme

TASRAIL, which operates the 1067mm-gauge railway on the Australian island state of Tasmania, has invited bids by August 5 for a contract to renew sleepers and rails on parts of its 638km network.

July 15, 2015 | Financial

DB board member resigns ahead of restructuring

GERMAN Rail's (DB) executive board member for technology and environment, Dr Heike Hanagarth, has tendered her resignation ahead of a planned restructuring of the executive board and a cost-cutting drive.

July 15, 2015 | High-speed

Latest Chinese high-speed train enters service

Bombardier Sifang Transportation is readying three new high-speed trains for the Chinese market. David Briginshaw looks at the top-of-the-range 350km/h train now under delivery, a 250km/h EMU which is being tested, and a prototype sleeping-car train.

July 14, 2015 | Track

Turkey and EU agree plan to upgrade Sivas – Samsun line

THE European Union has agreed to provide a grant towards upgrading the main line from Kalin west of Sivas to the Black Sea city of Samsun even though Turkey is not a member of the EU.

July 14, 2015 | High-speed

Construction of Britain’s second HS line to start in 2017

Work on the first phase of Britain's £42.6bn HS2 project to build a 338km high-speed line from London via Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds is set to begin two years from now. As David Briginshaw reports, this was confirmed last month by Britain's newly-elected government.

July 14, 2015 | High-speed

China starts testing standard high-speed EMUs

TESTING started this month of two 350km/h prototype China Standard EMUs designed by Chinese engineers.

July 9, 2015 | High-speed

SNCF president urges rail to fight for market share

IRJ at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress, Tokyo: FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) president Mr Guillaume Pepy has urged high-speed rail operators to fight back against the growing threat to their business from other transport modes by embracing innovation to meet the needs of passengers.

July 8, 2015 | Signalling

Rail industry needs "discipline" to make ERTMS interoperable, says ERA

IRJ at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress, Tokyo: SIGNALLING suppliers will need to commit to the second release of ERTMS Baseline 3 if the technology is to finally become truly interoperable, European Railway Agency executive director Mr Josef Doppelbauer told delegates at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress in Tokyo on July 8.