CANADIAN National (CN) and Vossloh have signed a multi-annual framework contract for the supply of turnouts, following on from a similar agreement for concrete sleepers, which was signed in April.

GERMAN Rail (DB) is working with Munich-based Internet of Things (IoT) startup Konux to improve the availability of high-speed turnouts through predictive maintenance.

An innovative concept for turnouts functioning in sub-zero temperatures that eliminates the need for a point heater has been developed by Dutch mechanical design engineer, Richard de Roos, at his own risk and expense.

Tests of a new continuous rail turnout concept, which was recently commissioned on a BNSF line in Texas, has the potential to reduce maintenance costs and improve safety, as David Davis, senior scientist and Rafael Jimenez, senior engineer at Transportation Technology Centre Inc, United States, explain.