USA: Amtrak is to launch a twice-daily Mardi Gras Service passenger train linking New Orleans with Mobile via the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

UK: London St Pancras Highspeed and the Railway Industry Association have hosted an industry event at Ebbsfleet International station to inform the supply chain about business opportunities over the next five years.

Using autonomous pods to transport parcel shipments and other goods on existing tram infrastructure could help to mitigate the traffic jams caused by growing volumes of delivery vehicles, suggests Fragile CEO Lukas Kauer.

FRANCE: SNCF Voyageurs has unveiled the first refurbished Tango high speed trainset and announced new destinations as part of its plans to increase the Ouigo low-cost brand’s share of the domestic high speed rail market from 20% to 30% by 2030.

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

UK: Network Rail is trialling the use of unmanned aerial vehicles flying beyond visual line of sight to enable the faster inspection of railway routes.

EUROPE: Stadler has delivered the first of seven dual-system electric multiple-units custom-designed for Mont Blanc Express services between France and Switzerland.

GERMANY: Parliamentary transport committee member Patrick Schnieder has been named as the next federal Minister for Digital & Transport.

UK: Network Rail has awarded contracts to run its autumn and winter rail treatment trains.

MOROCCO: King Mohammed VI officially launched construction of the Kénitra – Casablanca – Marrakech high speed line with a ceremony at Rabat-Agdal station on April 24.

CHINA: CRRC Sifang and China Railway Zhengzhou Group have produced a hotel train themed on the Yellow River which will take tourists to scenic destinations in Henan province including Luoyang, Anyang and Sanmenxia.

AUSTRIA: The city of Wien and municipal operator Wiener Linien have launched the Öffi-Packerl trial that will see passengers transport parcels on selected tram routes in the north of the city.

UK: London to Scotland night train operator Caledonian Sleeper has launched an online souvenir shop in partnership with branded merchandise agency ORB Group.

USA: The Trump administration has stripped New York MTA of its role in redeveloping New York Penn Station, leaving the federal government in charge through the Department of Transportation and Amtrak.

BELGIUM: The Liège tramway has opened to passengers, with the first commercial service leaving Liège-Expo at 04.22 on April 28.

News from the world rail freight market.

UK: Transport for Greater Manchester has launched the process of appointing the next operating and maintenance contractor for the Metrolink light rail network, after the Great Manchester Combined Authority’s Bee Network transport committee opted for a revised franchising model rather than taking operations in-house.

CHINA: CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles has rolled out a 200 km/h ‘intelligent inter-city electric multiple-unit’ which integrates digital technologies.

BULGARIA: The Ministry of Transport & Communications has formally awarded the Alstom-led BULEMU consortium a contract to supply and maintain 35 Coradia Stream electric multiple-units.

UGANDA: A Limited Notice to Proceed has been issued along with US$83m of funding to enable lead contractor Yapı Merkezi to commence work on the 272 km Eastern Line from the capital Kampala to Malaba on the Kenyan border before the end of May.