IRJ Pro market researcher Jonny Dearden looks at the big projects likely to hit the headlines this year.

The popularity of the world’s biggest railway exhibition, InnoTrans, shows no sign of abating. As attention shifts to the 2018 edition, David Briginshaw reports from Berlin on how the organiser, Messe Berlin, is attempting to meet demand.

TENDER NOTICE

Oman Rail Company LLC announces the following Tender: -

• The Tender documents can be obtained from Oman Rail Company LLC Office Beach 1 Building, Third Floor, Qurum, Muscat from the date of publication of this announcement (Office Hours: 7.00 am to 4.00 pm, Sunday to Thursday).

• Only entities, consortiums, partnerships or joint ventures which have had direct participation in an Advisory Consultancy Services role for the complete project cycle of a cargo/bulk resource railway PPP in the past 10 years are invited to purchase the tender documents.

• More details can be obtained via corresponding to email ID tenders@omanrail.om.

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.

Sweden’s proposal to build a new Y-shaped high-speed network between its major cities continues to progress, albeit very slowly. But could the project be about to take a significant step forward? Kevin Smith reports.

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.

Santiago is already home to South America’s most extensive metro, and with two new lines nearing completion and a third planned, the network is set to expand to eight lines totalling 174km. Ian Thomson Newman reports.

Despite continuing political problems, the Brazilian economy is beginning to recover after two years of recession, with a 2.4% increase in GDP predicted for 2018. As Renata Passos reports, the return to economic growth is expected to lead to the revival of stalled passenger rail projects and the launch of new schemes.

The first high-speed railway in California and the United States is starting to take shape following ground breaking on the first section two years ago. Anitra Green reports from the headquarters of the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) in Sacramento on how the project is progressing.

Delays in the installation of ETCS onboard equipment send more ripples through signalling programme.