Murray Hughes

GERMANY: At a ceremony in Berlin Hauptbahnhof on March 19 Deutsche Bahn took delivery of the final ICE4 trainset, which was named Spree to mark the occasion and ‘baptised’ with water from the river of the same name.

Momentum in the global high speed rail market is tilting towards emerging economies as the established networks in China, Europe and Japan reach maturity. Our Consultant Editor Murray Hughes reflects on the latest technical and developmental trends in the sector.

Dakar’s TER suburban service kickstarted a rail revival in Sénégal, but further progress hinges on the direction of transport policy chosen following the presidential election in March. Murray Hughes reports.

A major upgrading programme is in progress to enhance resilience, raise capacity and cut journey times on Network Rail's busy east-west route through the Pennines between Manchester and Leeds. Murray Hughes investigates.

The building blocks to turn round performance on Germany's national network are being put in place thanks to an unprecedented investment programme, but Deutsche Bahn and infrastructure arm DB InfraGO must deliver on their promises, warns Federal Minister for Digital & Transport Dr Volker Wissing. Murray Hughes put the questions.

As Deutsche Bahn's more flexible competitors eat into the rail freight market, drastic action is required to turn DB Cargo into a viable concern. Murray Hughes reports.

In its biennial report published on July 1, Germany's Monopolies Commission calls for measures governing DB InfraGO to be geared more directly to the needs of rail customers.

Open access operator FlixTrain is expanding operations in Germany and plans to enter other European markets if conditions are favourable. Murray Hughes asked FlixTrain Managing Director Matthias Müller about the company's plans.

Having acquired German intermodal business Exploris Deutschland in July last year, theTX Logistik subsidiary of Italy's FS Group is set firmly on an expansion course. Bernd Weisweiler, Director, Marketing & Business Development, answers our questions.

As celebrations in Britain this year mark 200 years since the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, our Consultant Editor Murray Hughes reflects on his 50 years writing for Railway Gazette International and assesses where the rail sector might go in the coming half-century.