Industrial News

Listen to this article As part of the 200-year anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington on 27 September 1825, this article looks at the early developments in signalling. At first there was generally no need as trains were slow and infrequent. But five years after the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened, the…

Listen to this article Telecoms has always been an important engineering discipline for railways. Both telecoms and railways evolved at the same time in the 1800s and railways pioneered telegraph communication. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened on the 15 September 1830. There was a steep incline outside the station and, because the gradient was…

Listen to this article Rail Engineer reported extensively on the Vehicle/Track Systems Interface Committee (V/TSIC) and Adhesion Research (ADHERE) seminar in 2024. The 2025 event, held in York in early March, provided the opportunity for over 100 delegates to hear presentations on a mix of original research, updates, and practical experience of applying learning. This…

Listen to this article The collision between two trains at Talerddig, Powys, Wales on 21 October 2024 once again highlighted the issue of poor wheel rail adhesion, particularly in the autumn with ‘leaves on the line’. This continues to be a risk that can be realised despite the industry spending significant sums on mitigation and…

Listen to this article Just over a year ago in March 2024, Siemens Mobility announced to the press it would develop a brand-new premises in Chippenham and release the old site just to the north of the railway station. Siemens and its forbears (principally Westinghouse) had been on that site since 1897. With modern day…

Listen to this article In 1896, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius predicted that changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will create a greenhouse effect that increases average global temperatures. In 1967, a computer model confirmed this conclusion which, over the next two decades, became established scientific truth. The increasing acceptance of the threat of climate change led…

Listen to this article Operating as an independent subsidiary of Network Rail, NCB Rail Assurance is the UK railway’s leading infrastructure assessment and certification body. Rail Engineer has spoken to Managing Director Sam Brunker on a number of occasions. Here, he brings us up to date with the organisation’s subtle rebranding, its expanded range of…

Listen to this article Fletcher Moorland has provided engineering services for nearly 80 years. With a wealth of experience in electrical and electro-mechanical engineering, the company works with major companies in the automotive, power generation, logistics, and manufacturing industries, and has worked in Rail for more than three decades. Rail Engineer sat down with Managing…