Poland’s rail fund not before 2028
POLAND: The reform lifting the state rail fund to PLN 10bn a year will not take effect until 1 January 2028, deputy infrastructure minister Piotr Malepszak said. That is a year later than planned, and after the autumn 2027 parliamentary election.
He told Rynek Kolejowy and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna that the date is agreed with the finance ministry, which had earlier argued for April 2027. No government decision on the new timetable has been published.
In the meantime PKP PLK gets about PLN 5bn (about EUR 1.2bn) more in the 2027 budget for investment and maintenance. Three industry associations answered with an open letter to prime minister Donald Tusk, calling for the finished bill to be passed without further delay.
Full story: Poland pushes rail fund reform to 2028, after the election
Austria’s busiest line shut for 14 months
AUSTRIA: ÖBB’s planned closure of the central section of Vienna’s S-Bahn trunk line took effect on 7 September and runs until the end of October 2027. The 14-month closure is the main phase of the rebuild of what ÖBB calls Austria’s busiest commuter line.
The closed section runs between Wien Hauptbahnhof and Wien Praterstern. ÖBB will renew the viaducts through the city’s second district, lengthen platforms, modernise two stations and replace the entire track infrastructure.
The infrastructure manager says the work cannot be carried out efficiently under traffic. Trains had already stopped on the section on 13 August after a cable fire at Wien Praterstern.
Full story: ÖBB closes Austria’s busiest commuter line for 14 months
Milan–Brussels by night train, four countries
CROSS-BORDER: European Sleeper’s first night train from Milan to Brussels left Milano Porta Garibaldi on 9 September, opening the operator’s third regular route. The service runs across four national networks, with the Italian operator Arenaways providing traction between Milan and the Swiss border.
The route runs over the Gotthard line via Lugano and Aarau, then Cologne and Aachen, three times a week in each direction. The launch comes just under three months later than planned, after track works in Germany and certification in Switzerland.
Full story: European Sleeper starts Milan–Brussels night train
DB-led project demonstrates driverless depot run
GERMANY: A DB-led research project has run a Siemens Mireo from siding to platform without a driver. The runs, at up to 40 km/h and without passengers, are proof that fully driverless operation is technically feasible, the project says.
AutomatedTrain is funded with around EUR 42.6m by the German economy ministry. The demonstrated use case covers dispatching and stabling movements only; the results are due to be presented at InnoTrans in Berlin from 22 to 25 September.
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