Current prospects for the global rail track system market are mixed according to the latest study by German consultancy SCI Verkehr. CEO Maria Leenen and senior consultant Karl Strang profile the results.

Positive Train Control has been a generational challenge for the US freight railways consuming billions of dollars and millions of man hours in the race to reach the federally-mandated deadline for implementation, which is just two months away. However, with the programme well behind schedule there is still considerable uncertainty over what will happen after the clock strikes midnight on December 31, as Keith Barrow explains.

Trials of a new smartphone app developed by London digital product studio ustwo in partnership with the Royal London Society for Blind People Youth Forum have shown strong potential to transform station navigation for vision impaired passengers. Kevin Smith examines the concept.

Misalignment between the objects, interfaces, services, apps and solutions designed for a model user and an actual user's needs is undermining design and the effective implementation of new technologies at stations. Giuseppe Attoma Pepe, service design strategist, and Alessandro Catania, user research manager, at Attoma, provide an overview of methods to help managers and designers base their choices for station wayfinding on real-life situations.

The Czech Republic is currently engaged in an unprecedented programme of infrastructure upgrades. Pavel Surý, director general of Czech railway infrastructure manager SŽDC, speaks exclusively to Kevin Smith and Quintus Vosman about how this work is transforming domestic and international services.

Station design is one of five core elements of the Nodes research project. Richard Booth, scheme development manager at Britain's West Midlands transport authority Centro, who led the design element of the project, and Caroline Hoogendoorn, the International Public Transport Association's (UITP) Nodes coordinator, reflect on Nodes achievements at improving interchange design.

Aerial mapping using the latest high-resolution imagery technology is benefitting Transport for London's project planning process, as Don Martindale, resource group manager in Atkins' Geomatics Team, explains.

Despite few immediate prospects for new line construction, an ageing rolling stock fleet and changing government attitudes towards light rail are set to sustain demand in the Russian tram market, as Vladimir Savchuk, deputy director general, for Russia's Institute of Natural Monopolies Research (IPEM), and Igor Skok, senior analyst in IPEM's Railway Research Department, explain.

In a time of scarce financial resources, metros are seeking to reduce operating costs by diversifying their revenue streams, adopting new technologies and embracing more flexible operating practices. Keith Barrow reports from Barcelona on how the city's metro operator TMB is generating efficiencies through innovation.