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The "Wall-E" like robot in action on West JR's test rails. Credit: West Japan Railways

West Japan Railways (West JR), one of six companies that make up Japan Railways Group, has unveiled a giant “humanoid robot” to work on heavy machinery on its lines. 

The as-yet-unnamed tool is described as “multifunctional railway heavy machinery for railway equipment maintenance” and is based on a prototype used by West JR to prove the concept of the odd-looking machine. 

The new robot has been developed in partnership with Jinki Ittai Co, a robotics technology developer, and Nippon Signal Co, an IT and electrical infrastructure firm. 

West JR said the project was needed due to “a labour shortage in infrastructure maintenance work, not just for railways”. 

The new “heavy equipment” is carried by a railway construction vehicle, which hosts the control room, with the robot on an extendable boom. 

Its primary use is to reach electrical overhead wires to remotely fix problems and it can carry up to 40kg and work remotely at up to 12 metres above ground. 

The Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland has reopened for rail operations more than a year after it was closed for repairs following the derailment of a freight train in August 2023.

The country’s national rail company SBB revealed the tunnel had been fully reopened for passenger and freight trains on 2 September, in line with a schedule released in November 2023 after an assessment of repair works pushed back the original expected completion date.

SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot thanked travellers for their patience and said: “We are delighted that our customers can travel more quickly between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino again and benefit from an even more frequent service.”

While some freight trains had been able to run through parts of the multi-track tunnel system as soon as 12 days after the derailment on 10 August, with passenger trains following less than two months later, SBB had been forced to limit full services until now. 

One of the consortiums hoping to construct a new metro rail line between Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and Westside has added Stadler and Siemens Mobility as its rolling stock and signalling partners.

The Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (STCP) group was formed by engineering and investment firms Meridiam, Bechtel, and American Triple I and has proposed a driverless rapid-rail subway design to solve Los Angeles’ ambition to create a rail alternative to the I-405/Sepulveda road corridor.

STCP’s designs are currently being evaluated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) alongside another proposal from LA SkyRail Express for constructing a monorail alternative.

Following the completion of environmental reviews and Metro’s selection of its preferred plans, construction on the project is expected to begin in 2027 ahead of the opening of a new rail service between 2033 and 2035.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged in the US state of Nebraska after allegedly causing the derailment of a BNSF train in April 2024.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with two counts of criminal mischief at Lancaster County Juvenile Court.

He is accused of interfering with the tracks in Bennet, Nebraska, and causing two locomotives and five full freight cars to jump from the rails after colliding with a stationary coal car.

According to court documents, the conductor told a BNSF investigator the crash and derailment were caused by a misaligned switch. A control lock on the switch was reportedly missing.

It is alleged the teen was aware of the switch in question and mentioned the misalignment in comments to the investigator at the scene.

The City of Naples in Italy has inaugurated Line 6 of its metro network, 11 years after the line closed due to a building collapse.

It used the disaster and closure to begin an expansion project, which has added four stations to the renewed Line 6.

The 6km line runs from Piazza Municipio to Mostra d’Oltremare and stops at eight stations.

Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi said: “An important metro line is coming into operation because it serves a fundamental part of the city and improves the public transport service.

“This line has a very troubled history, but after forty years of various vicissitudes, the service is finally opening.”

Travel along the full route of the newly expanded line will take 15 minutes, and passengers will be able to change to the network’s Line 1 and other rail and ferry services at the Piazza Municipio station.