5/2018

On 25 September 2018 in Jeddah, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud announced, prior to boarding the first public high speed train to Madinah: „We thank Allah for the growth and prosperity in all fields in our country, and we thank Allah Almighty for His grace. Thank you.“ Thus ended the lengthy construction saga of Saudi Arabia’s Haramain Railway, the first high speed railway in the Middle East, linking the two most sacred cities in the Islamic world. „Haramain“ or „Haram“ translates as ‘The Two Holy Sanctuaries’.

Messe Berlin’s ExpoCenter City is expanding once again. That means More Messe, and naturally, More InnoTrans, in 2020 and subsequent years. The new exhibition hall is known as hub27, the 27th in the series of numbered halls.

Between 1 and 3 October 2018 the first international PRO//Motion.1520 transport and logistics forum, this particular event dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the foundation of RZD, took place at the Sochi Media Centre. The event hosted over 1,400 delegates from 16 countries and around 340 companies.

Outside the InnoTrans exhibition area, on the first day of the trade fair, Stadler offered a selected number of invited guests a dynamic presentation of its new FLIRT AKKU EDMU. A three-car prototype was completed at Pankow works, its EVN being 94 80 1427 500-2 D-STAP. In August 2018 it received all the necessary authorisation, enabling it to make its inaugural passenger-carrying journey on 18 September. Its first passengers were exclusively representatives of European public transport authorities.

Like in 2016, Bombardier organised a press tour to its Hennigsdorf works (this forming the “extension" to Messe Berlin’s ground). The highlight of the Hennigsdorf presentation on 20 September 2018 was the new battery-operated Class 8442 Talent 3 BEMU.