USA: Amtrak has selected Wohlsen Construction to build its Unified Operations Center in Wilmington, Delaware.

CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD and Open access company RegioJet have agreed to end all legal proceedings relating to a dispute about competition on the Praha – Ostrava line

PHILIPPINES: March 27 marked the last operation of passenger services for five years in the Manila metropolitan area in order to accelerate construction of the North-South Commuter Railway.

News from the world rail freight market.

MOLDOVA: An application for accession to the Convention Concerning International Carriage by Rail has been submitted by Moldova.

SWEDEN: Railcare is testing its second-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle, which has been developed with ABB and can both operate and charge its batteries via overhead electrification.

USA: Amtrak has awarded its first Delivery Partner contract, covering the $6bn Frederick Douglass Tunnel programme which it says is its single largest capital project.

UK: Freightliner and synthetic fuel developer Zero Petroleum have announced a partnership which aims to achieve fossil-free locomotive operation by 2040 and overall net zero by 2050.

CANADA: Greater Toronto area transport agency Metrolinx has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to provide track, signalling and right-of-way maintenance services for its Central Region.

Swedish start-up Strainlabs is one of the founding participants in the Vossloh Connect digital ecosystem. Vossloh’s Head of Digital Pierre-Henri Bougeant and Strainlabs’ CEO Csaba Madru explain the partnership and why in rail digitalisation, simplicity is key.

This week’s news from the global railway supply chain.

Globalisation is facing a challenge in the railway industry as countries prioritise domestic production of trains. Nick Kingsley  explores the drawbacks of this approach and the continued importance of international co-operation.

ITALY: Trenitalia has unveiled its first long-distance trainset which can operate on electric, diesel or battery power.

UK: The Department for Transport intends to directly award incumbent London North Eastern Railway a contract to continue to operate InterCity East Coast passenger services.

BELGIUM: Lineas has unveiled a FAME locomotive, powered by fatty acid methyl ester biofuel produced from non-food raw materials such as used cooking oil.

EUROPE: A dedicated Interrail Global pass has been launched to encourage sustainable travel and exploration by participants in the Erasmus+ education scheme.

EGYPT: British Steel has won a multi-million-pound contract to supply 9 500 tonnes of rail from its Scunthorpe plant in the UK for use on the 250 km/h Green Line railway. This corridor will link Mersa Matruh on the Mediterranean coast with Alexandria, the New Administrative Capital and the port ...

EUROPE: Polish company CLIP Intermodal has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 13 third-generation Traxx multi-system electric locomotives approved for use in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Poland.

UK: CrossCountry has selected Alstom as preferred bidder to refurbish its fleet of Voyager and Turbostar DMUs over a broadly two-year period as part of an investment package aimed at increasing capacity on its network by up to 25%.

UK: The Railway Industry Association has published a ‘fresh blueprint’ for ticketing reform, saying a focus on customer experience and boosting ridership could drive revenue growth without needing to increase fares.