Three rail employees arrested in India rail disaster

Aerial view of collision site in India.

NEW DELHI — Three employees of Indian Railways have been arrested over the three-train collision in June that killed almost 300 people, Agence France-Presse reports. The country’s Central Bureau of Investigation said the men — two signal engineers and one technician — have charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence. […]

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Highway truck tolls to fund rail investment in Germany

Blue and white passenger train pulled by electric locomotive

Trucks in Germany are now paying higher tolls to use main highways, with the extra money to be invested in the country’s government-owned rail network. The new tolls were effective July 1. The new funds will address a rail system that is suffering in places from a high level of use by both passenger and […]

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Error during signal repairs led to rail disaster in India, report says

Aerial view of collision site in India.

BHUBANSWAR, India — A signal repair error led to the three-train collision that killed 288 people in June, according to a Reuters report. The news report cites a report from investigators for the Commission of Railway Safety that says workers trying to address problems at a nearby grade crossing did not have a circuit diagram, […]

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Australian agricultural cooperative orders 17 locomotives from Wabtec

Aerial view of grain train with two blue double-ended locomotives

PERTH, Australia — Australian agricultural cooperative CBH Group will purchase 17 narrow gauge locomotives from Wabtec, CBH has announced. Wabtec will build 17 dual-cab, diesel-electric CM20ACi locomotives, with the first group of five set for delivery in the March quarter of 2026 and the remainder in the following quarter. The order, which follows a December […]

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Australian mining rail line reopens after derailment of autonomous train

Image of derailed ore hoppers

KARRATHA, Australia — Mining company Rio Tinto has reopened the Western Australia rail line that had been shut down by the derailment of an autonomous train hauling iron ore, with a company official telling the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that autonomous operation was not a factor. About 30 cars derailed on Saturday of a train moving […]

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Investigation begins after autonomous ore train derails in Australia

Image of derailed ore hoppers

KARRATHA, Australia — Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has begun an investigation after 30 cars of one of its autonomous iron ore trains derailed Saturday. National broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator had been notified. The ONRSR told the Australian Associated Press that initial indications were that onboard […]

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Swiss gauge-changing GPX trains back in service

Black passenger train pushed by bright green locomotive in mountain community

INTERLAKEN, Switzerland — The innovative Golden Pass Express gauge-changing train is back in service after through operations were suspended in February. The train offers one-seat rides from Montreaux, on the shores of Lake Geneva, to Interlaken in the heart of the Swiss Alps. It runs on the mountainous meter-gauge Montreux Berner Oberland Bahn (abbreviated MOB) […]

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Eurostar to be blocked from Amsterdam for a year

Blue, yellow, and white high speed train outside large station trainshed

AMSTERDAM — Despite objections from international high speed rail operator Eurostar and passenger groups, the Dutch government has agreed to a plan by state-owned infrastructure operator ProRail to suspend all Eurostar services in the Netherlands for up to a year beginning next summer. Separately, Eurostar has also dropped its service between London and Disneyland Paris. […]

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Signal error blamed for fatal collision in India

Aerial view of collision site in India.

BALASORE, India — A signal error caused a collision that has killed at least 275 people and injured more than 1,000, according to India’s railway minister. The Guardian reports that Ashwini Vaishnaw said the full investigation into the Friday crash was continuing but “the root cause has been identified.” Preliminary findings indicate the train, the […]

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Progress Rail to convert locomotive to battery power for Australia’s Aurizon

Four men standing on walkway of locomotive

REDBANK, Queensland — Australia’s largest freight rail company, Aurizon, has contracted with Progress Rail to build what the companies are calling the first zero-emission-capable freight locomotive to be constructed in Australia, a battery-electric unit. Progress Rail will retrofit one of Aurizon’s existing 4000-class diesel locomotives, Clyde Engineering units built by Walkers, at the Progress Rail […]

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Siemens presentation offers opportunity to compare hydrogen, battery-powered trains

Yellow and white multiple-unit trainset on straight track

WILDENRATH, Germany — A recent presentation by Siemens offered the opportunity to compare the company’s new hydrogen and battery trains for Europe, and provided a look at a new road-transport-based mobile hydrogen filling station. The equipment was presented at the Siemens-owned test center in northwestern Germany. The Wildenrath facility, with two test loops, is built […]

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New CPKC Chicago-Mexico intermodal service to debut May 11

Red locomotive with single intermodal car

CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC’s first new service — a pair of intermodal trains linking Chicago and Mexico — will launch on May 11, carrying containers from new customers Schneider and Knight-Swift. Daily hotshots 180 and 181 will link Chicago with Laredo, Texas; Monterrey, Mexico; and Mexico City. With third-day service to Laredo, fourth-day to Monterrey, […]

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