When disaster strikes, urgency is often a matter of utmost importance. To help aid the emergency response community in the US, the AskRail app was launched in 2014 to cover all North American Class I railroads. We analyse some of the most common barriers that might get in the way of a timely rail crisis response, and the most successful solutions on the market.

We also look at what lessons can be learned when it comes to the successful delivery of rail works, by reviewing rail regeneration projects such as Waterloo Station Redevelopment, Nottingham Station Remodelling and Derby Station Remodelling, nominated in a recent report as exemplary. 

China’s vast high-speed network, by far the longest and most extensively used in the world, creates a compelling timeline of how it got to where it is today.

We also follow Noah’s Train, the new climate-minded mobile artwork, as it travelled through Vienna, Berlin, Paris and Brussels, while being painted on by local street artists, all for a good cause. 

Finally, in the UK, National Rail is trialling new technology that will allow personalised travel information to come through Facebook Messenger, which made us ask: how close are we to devices which can reliably help us beat the crowds?