BNSF Railway published its $US 3.3bn 2018 spending plan on January 31 which comprises $US 2.4bn for track and rolling stock maintenance and $US 900m for new projects.

Guy Talbourdet, CEO of the Delachaux Group, talks to David Briginshaw.

GERMAN infrastructure manager DB Network has awarded a joint venture of Rhomberg Bahntechnik and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft a contract worth around €250m to install trackwork and infrastructure equipment on the 59.6km Wendlingen - Ulm high-speed line in Baden-Württemberg.

THE board of Belgium’s infrastructure manger Infrabel has approved additional investment of €1.15bn for the period 2018-2031 on top of the €4.3bn in the 2017-2020 plan which will enable the Brussels RER project and some regional schemes to be completed.

Vossloh, Germany, unveiled its first high-performance rail milling train at a customer open day at its rail welding and storage plant in Hamburg in September. David Briginshaw attended the event to see the new train along with demonstrations of a wide range of track maintenance equipment.

Frauscher Sensor Technology has developed a system based on Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) which has the ability to track trains, remotely monitor assets and secure infrastructure.

ITALY’s infrastructure manager Italian Rail Network (RFI) has awarded a €186m contract for track-doubling and infrastructure modernisation on a 38km section of the Palermo - Catania main line in Sicily.

BRITAIN’s infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has introduced into operation the first two of three 150m-long grinding trains, which Loram and Colas Rail are supplying under a £36m contract.

BRITAIN’s National Audit Office says that the £7bn Thameslink project to upgrade routes through London has a realistic prospect of delivering value for money, but the Department for Transport (DfT) and Network Rail (NR) now face a challenge to introduce the new expanded services, as they failed to start preparation early enough.

THE Delachaux Group announced on November 17 that it has united its seven rail businesses under the Pandrol brand.