UK: Universal Signalling has moved into an office in Derby, saying that with its growing headcount, material stockpile and customer base, ‘now is the right time to pin our flag on the map’.

UK: Great Western Railway has worked with Seatfrog to launch Secret Fares, offering savings of up to 50% on ticket prices in return for ‘mystery’ departure times.

FRANCE: The Portalp Group has formed Portalp Railway as a legal entity bringing together its platform screen door, guided transport systems and rail-sector access control and metalwork activities.

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

UK: The Rail Delivery Group and Valtech have updated the National Rail website’s station pages to make them clearer and provide the accessibility information that disabled passengers say they need.

CANADA: Industry leaders, suppliers and governments came together at the Made in Canada: Ferries & Rail Summit to discuss how the railway and ferry sectors can use more Canadian steel and aluminium.

USA: The operation and maintenance of the 55 km River Line inter-urban diesel light rail service in New Jersey is to transfer from Alstom to state transport agency NJ Transit by the end of the year.

SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railway Co has begun the prequalification process for two major contracts to be awarded for the Riyadh Rail Link project.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Ostrava transport operator DPO has awarded Bosch Engineering a KC37m contract to fit an anti-collision system to 38 Škoda 39T ForCity Smart trams.

INDIA: National High Speed Rail Corp Ltd has awarded Larsen & Toubro’s Transportation Infrastructure business a contract to supply and install ballastless track for the Mumbai – Ahmedabad high speed line.

EGYPT: Hitachi Rail has deployed centralised traffic control system to manage 19 stations on the busy Cairo to Alexandria main line.

POLAND: RegioJet is launching daily Warszawa – Kraków services on September 18, with Leo Express planning to extend its Praha – Kraków service to Warszawa next March, following regulatory approval.

AUSTRALIA: Responsibility for the operation of Adelaide’s trams returned to the government of South Australia at 03.00 on August 31, ending the privatisation put in place by the previous government.

CANADA: Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary Alberta Heartland Railway has agreed a long-term lease of land for the construction of a rail terminal near Edmonton.

SOUTH KOREA: Seoul municipality has announced that test runs will start this month for the 5·4 km, catenary-free Wirye Line tramway, with opening scheduled for next year.

News from the world rail freight market.

UK: Transport for Wales has introduced virtual reality training technology for train managers, enabling them to experience scenarios from a classroom before moving on to practical training.

CZECH REPUBLIC: The Ministry of Transport has selected RegioJet for one of the country’s largest PSO operating contracts to date, covering long-distance passenger services on five routes northeast of Praha.

The future of the German rail network is once again in the spotlight. With Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder describing DB’s situation as ‘dramatic’, our Senior Editor Chris Jackson explains why all eyes wil be on Berlin in September as a potentially major policy reset looms.

CANADA: The Alto high speed rail project is to benefit from a Major Projects Office which the government has established to identify projects that are in the national interest and streamline their assessment and approval to accelerate development.