UK: Project promoter East West Railway Co has announced updated proposals for the Oxford to Cambridge railway corridor following public consultation and detailed technical design work.

SPAIN: Studies are to assess the viability of upgrading the Madrid – Barcelona high speed line to raise the maximum speed to 350 km/h and other works which would provide a journey time of under 2 h.

SPAIN: High speed line infrastructure manager ADIF Alta Velocidad has awarded three contracts for the 69 km Plasencia –Talayuela section of the Madrid – Extremadura high speed line project.

This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Group has entered a strategic partnership with US electric vehicle battery technology company Microvast to develop and manufacture battery systems for public transport applications.

CANADA: The Deux-Montagnes branch of Montréal’s Réseau Express Métropolitain has opened, tripling the length of the automated metro.

EUROPE: The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility & Transport hosted the Young People & Transport Jobs: Making Transport Careers More Attractive conference which explored how to make transport jobs more appealing.

SPAIN: Alstom is undertaking static and dynamic testing of the first of 10 electric multiple-units ordered by Catalunya regional train operator FGC for use on a future shuttle service from Barcelona city centre to El Prat Airport.

UK: The eligibility criteria for the Disabled Persons Railcard are to be expanded so that both visible and non-visible disabilities are better recognised.

UKRAINE: Alstom is to supply national railway Ukrzaliznytsia with 55 Traxx Hauler electric freight locomotives tailor-made to local requirements.

USA: Shareholders of both companies have approved Union Pacific’s planned acquisition of Norfolk Southern. Combining Union Pacific’s network in the west of the country with Norfolk Southern’s routes in the east would create the first railway company spanning the USA from coast to coast.

EUROPE: Open access operator Westbahn has described the European rolling stock market as an ‘oligopoly’ dominated by a few manufacturers, leading to reduce choice, long delivery times and high costs.

AUSTRALIA: Mining company BHP has taken delivery of its first purpose-built battery-electric heavy haul locomotives for trials between its Pilbara iron ore mines and Port Hedland.

INDIA: Digital mapping company MapmyIndia is to integrate Delhi Metro Rail Corp’s API within its Mappls app to provide direct access to detailed information on nearby stations, routes, fares, train frequencies and travel times.

News from the world rail freight market.

UK: Great Western Railway has gained the National Autistic Society’s Autism Friendly Award for businesses which become more inclusive by providing accessible customer services, information and environments.

Digital Automatic Couplings are expected to transform the prospects for European rail freight, with fundamental changes to both technology and operations, but introduction can only be achieved step by step. Testing and revenue service trials are now underway, preparing the path to a widespread roll-out.

The opening of Melbourne’s cross-city tunnel for revenue operation paves the way for a network-wide timetable change in February, which will reshape the Sunbury – Cranbourne/Pakenham axis and release capacity for additional services on other suburban lines. Benjámin Zelki investigates.

LITHUANIA: The national railway’s freight business LTG Cargo is testing the use of a robot dog which autonomously walks around a train and uses artificial intelligence to search for wagon faults.

USA: Supplier INIT has begun work on Atlanta transport agency MARTA’s Better Breeze project to replace the existing Breeze fare collection system ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.