Bombardier's multi-engined Traxx DE ME was one of the star exhibits at InnoTrans in September, with visitors waiting up to 40 minutes for the chance to see inside this innovative locomotive. With the need for lower emissions and greater fuel economy becoming ever more pressing, Keith Barrow asks whether four engines might be better than one.

FOLLOWING a Europe-wide tender, DB Regio has won Lot 1 of the contract to operate the Eifel-Westerwald-Sieg network contract in western Germany comprising three routes and covering 2.3 million train-km per year.

A consortium of Pöyry's urban business unit and German engineering consultant PTB Magdeburg have secured a contract from DB Projects for construction management and supervision of the refurbishment and electrification of the Upper Rhine railway between Erzingen on the German – Swiss border and Beringen to the west of Schaffhausen.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has placed a €50m order with Bombardier for five more Twindexx Vario double-deck emus.

IRJ at InnoTrans 2012: GERMAN Rail (DB) and MTU are displaying a hybrid variant of the Siemens Class 642 dmu at the InnoTrans outside track area which is described by DB as its first converted hybrid rail vehicle for public operations.

IRJ at InnoTrans 2012: GERMAN Rail (DB) has concluded two framework agreements with Pesa, Poland, for the supply of up to 470 Link regional dmus.

This month's 12th UIC Sustainability Conference in Venice will highlight the latest efforts by the world's railways to improve their green credentials. Alexander Veitch, UIC's head of sustainable development, explained to Kevin Smith where railways are strong, and where they can still improve.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has awarded a consortium of Siemens and Kapsch CarrierCom a €93m contract to equip 230km of the under construction high-speed line from Halle and Leipzig to Ebensfed via Erfurt with ERTMS Level 2.

While German Rail (DB) is performing well financially, it still faces some tough challenges as it deals with threats to its existence as a fully-integrated railway and copes with the aftermath of past misjudgements. DB's CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube (pictured) reveals in an exclusive interview with David Briginshaw how the railway is addressing these issues.

German Rail broke two of its own records - for passenger traffic and revenue - in the first half of 2012, and despite a drop in freight, Ebit also grew strongly. David Briginshaw reports from Berlin on DB's cautious optimism for the rest of the year.