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Deutsche Bahn will reopen its Berlin to Hamburg main line on 14 June, drawing to a close a nine-month shutdown that stands as both the most ambitious and the most painful test yet of Germany's effort to drag its railway back from decades of neglect. The roughly 270-kilometre corridor, one of the busiest in the country, was closed last August for a comprehensive overhaul. Work on the route saw 165 kilometres of track, 249 switches and five kilometres of noise barriers renewed

Alstom, Europe's largest train maker, has confirmed it is in confidential exploratory talks over the potential sale of its Kassel locomotive plant in Germany, in a move that underscores the growing tension between the continent's rail manufacturing base and a defence sector hungry for industrial capacity. The French group said the discussions with an unnamed interested party were open-ended and that confidentiality obligations prevented further comment. Local media reports ha

Around Europe’s rail industry, one question is beginning to eclipse the old debate over punctuality: who will own the next generation of the continent’s high speed network? That question sharpened this week after fresh details emerged around Italian private operator Italo’s planned €3.6bn expansion into Germany, a move that would challenge Deutsche Bahn on some of Europe’s busiest intercity routes. The proposal, which includes up to 50 daily services linking Munich, Berlin, H

The European Parliament has cleared the final legislative hurdle for the Capacity Management Regulation, ending more than two years of negotiation and handing the bloc's rail industry the closest thing it has yet had to a single market for track access. The regulation, formally adopted on 19 May after a second-reading vote in Strasbourg, replaces the 2010 freight corridor rules and amends the 2012 governance directive. It is the most substantive overhaul of European rail plan

Alstom delivered a record €27.6bn in fresh orders for its 2025/26 fiscal year, lifting backlog to a sector-leading €104.4bn, but the French rolling stock group conceded that operational missteps on large contracts will continue to weigh on margins into the new financial year. Group sales rose 3.7% to €19.17bn, with organic growth of 7.2%, the company said on 13 May. Adjusted EBIT came in at €1.17bn, broadly flat year on year, while the adjusted EBIT margin slipped 30 basis po

Alstom said record commercial momentum failed to translate into the margin expansion shareholders had been promised, as Europe's largest train maker confirmed full-year results that crystallised a sharp reset of medium-term ambitions under new chief executive Martin Sion. The Saint-Ouen-based group reported order intake of €27.6bn for the fiscal year to 31 March, a 39 per cent jump that lifted its backlog above €104bn and underscored the strength of a European rolling stock c

The European Commission has fired the opening shot in a long-delayed effort to dismantle one of the single market's stubbornest barriers: the inability to buy a cross-border train journey on a single ticket. On 13 May the Commission tabled a Passenger Package of three legislative proposals, comprising a regulation on rail ticketing, a regulation on multimodal booking that repeals the 2009 computerised reservation rules, and a revision of the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation.

Brussels has set out the most far-reaching overhaul of European rail ticketing in more than a decade, proposing rules that would force operators to offer single-ticket bookings for journeys spanning multiple carriers and borders. The European Commission's "Passenger Package", unveiled on 13 May, bundles three legislative proposals: a regulation on rail ticketing, a regulation on multimodal booking, and a revision of existing rail passenger rights rules. The reforms, champione

Europe's rail supply industry has called on the European Union to ring-fence proceeds from its emissions trading system to help finance an estimated €546bn expansion of the bloc's high-speed network, in the latest sign that European policymakers are struggling to close a yawning gap between climate ambition and infrastructure funding. UNIFE, the Brussels-based association representing manufacturers including Alstom, Siemens Mobility and Stadler, published its financing propos

Italo, Italy's largest private high-speed rail operator, is preparing a €3.6bn push into Germany that would mount the most ambitious challenge yet to Deutsche Bahn's grip on Europe's largest long-distance passenger market. Chief executive Gianbattista La Rocca has confirmed the carrier intends to launch services in mid-2028, deploying an initial fleet of 26 Siemens Velaro trainsets across roughly 1,300km of network linking 18 German cities. An option for a further 14 trains s

London-based infrastructure investor John Laing has reached financial close on a roughly €800 million transaction to finance 61 Siemens Mobility battery-electric trains for regional services in north-west Germany, marking the firm's return to the country's rolling stock market and one of the largest private investments in European zero-emission rail this year. John Laing has taken an 89 per cent equity stake alongside specialist asset manager Rock Rail, with MetLife Investmen

Cargounit, Central and Eastern Europe's largest independent rolling-stock leasing company, has taken delivery of its 50th Siemens Vectron MS multi-system locomotive, marking a milestone in a procurement programme that could ultimately exceed 150 units and reshape the region's cross-border freight market. The handover of the latest unit, named "Ignacy", was confirmed by the Polish lessor at the start of May. Cargounit has more than 60 additional Vectrons on firm order with Sie