IRJ at Trako 12th International Railway Fair, Gdansk, Poland: WARSAW Commuter Railway (WKD) has completed the rollout of a new passenger information system from IVU Traffic Technologies on its 33km line from Warsaw Śródmieście to Grodzisk.

VIRGIN Trains East Coast has launched a new smartphone app which enables passengers to bid for last-minute upgrades for first-class seats.

SIEMENS announced on August 9 that it is establishing a new locomotive service hub at New Castle, Delaware, to remotely monitor the operation of Siemens locomotives across the United States.

NOMAD Digital, Airbus Defence and Space (ADS), FirstGroup and TTG Transportation Technology are working together to support the development of real-time train location data sources to be used to locate trains at any given time.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has begun testing a new app-based fare verification system which eliminates the need for onboard ticket checks.

NETWORK Rail (NR) has announced a series of “sweeping reforms,” which will enable the private sector to play a more active role in delivering major infrastructure projects.

SPANISH companies involved in the development and certification of the OGI automatic gauge-changing system have completed the first phase of dynamic testing. The OGI bogies are designed for use on freight routes crossing the Spanish-French border where the track gauge changes from 1668mm to 1435mm.

BRITAIN’s Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), the rail supply industry and a consortium of eight universities have secured £92m of funding to establish Britain as a global centre of rail excellence.

New developments in wagon technology and a growing awareness of the need for digitalisation should help rail freight operators become more competitive, as Anitra Green discovered at the recent Transport Logistics exhibition in Munich.

A new draft ERTMS Deployment Action Plan was presented at the EU Agency for Railways’ Single European Railway Area (Sera) conference in Brussels on June 20, and will now go out to consultation.