Opening our first edition of the new year is an in-depth look at what’s in store for Egypt’s rail industry, after the country sealed a momentous deal for 1,300 new train carriages.

We’re also analysing the dangers faced by the famous Eurostar service in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and question whether the UK is truly ready to welcome the much-publicised “root and branch review” promised in September by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

Trenitalia-owned British franchise c2c also spoke to us about its award-winning service, in the hope that rival services could learn vital lessons from what was voted the country’s best operator.

Finally, our timeline piece reviews every method used across the years to combat leaves on the lines, before catching up with Russia’s Moscow – Kazan high-speed project.

Read on for all this and ­­­­join the conversation on Twitter.

Eva Grey, editor