China train arrives in port of Rotterdam

The first direct train from China arrives in the port of Rotterdam tonight. It carries Chinese goods originating from Xi’an. After unloading, the train will be reloaded with goods from Ireland, and the train will return to China. This will all take place at the Rail Service Center Rotterdam.

Iranian major railway companies to be listed on stock exchange

Two of Iran’s biggest railway companies namely Raja Rail Transportation Company and Novin Sanat Raja Company are going through the final stages to be listed on Iran’s over-the-counter (OTC) market, known as Iran Fara Bourse (IFB), an official with RAJA announced.

New Rail Link: inside Switzerland’s largest ever construction project

Almost 30 years after a high-speed rail link was voted for by the Swiss in a referendum, the final section of the New Rail Link – a high-speed rail link through the Alps – is set to open to rail traffic in December 2020. Here is at this historic €21.3bn project, the milestones of which include the creation of the 35-mile-long Gotthard Base Tunnel.

Uzbekistan Railways receives new electric locomotives

UZBEKISTAN Railways (UTY) has received delivery of five 3ES5K 25kV 50Hz ac electric freight locomotives from Russian manufacturer Transmashholding (TMH).

New RoLa sleeping cars for ÖBB?

AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) has launched a market survey for a possible procurement of sleeping coaches for rolling road (RoLa) piggyback freight services.

SWISS to introduce new ‘Airtrain’ services between Geneva’s Cornavin central station and Zurich Airport

SWISS is to add the Geneva Cornavin to Zurich Airport route to the ‘Airtrain’ rail services which it offers in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Railways. The new services should help keep Western Switzerland optimally connected with SWISS’s Zurich Airport hub even after the timetable changes that the airline has had to make in response to the coronavirus crisis. In extending the Airtrain network to Geneva, SWISS is also offering its customers more options for seamlessly combining multiple modes of transport.

Iran to become a major transit route for India, Russia

Iran has reached agreements with Russia and India for transiting the mentioned countries’ commodities through its rail network, ILNA reported quoting the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) as saying.

Alstom to Consider Weak Bombardier Transportation Results in Takeover Talks

Alstom says it will “take into account the consequences” of the operating and financial developments at Bombardier Transportation in forthcoming takeover discussions after the company reported an adjusted Ebit loss of $383 million in the second quarter of 2020.

Data likely stolen as Stadler IT system hit by cyber-attack

STADLER’s IT system was targeted with a cyber-attack last week, the company has announced, with malware used to steal information.

COVID-19 and the Rail Economy

FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE MAY 2020 ISSUE: Too much ink (printer ink in the modern era) has already been spilt trying to find an angle on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the national and global economy, the consumer, the business segments most impacted by the terrible crisis (think aerospace, restaurants, the arts), the front line healthcare workers risking their lives daily and the retail, delivery and factory workers keeping aspects of life in the United States (e.g. food supply) relatively normal.