Features & Analysis – Page 8
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In depthGermany: ÖBB enters an evolving market
Austrian Federal Railways’ acquisition of the former Go-Ahead Deutschland business marks a significant strategic move in a regional rail market which has been characterised by instability in recent years. Toma Bačić reports.
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In depthInterview: FlixTrain eyes ‘enormous potential’ in Europe’s rail market
Open access operator FlixTrain is expanding operations in Germany and plans to enter other European markets if conditions are favourable. Murray Hughes asked FlixTrain Managing Director Matthias Müller about the company’s plans.
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In depthFreight: TX Logistik targets European expansion
Having acquired German intermodal business Exploris Deutschland in July last year, theTX Logistik subsidiary of Italy’s FS Group is set firmly on an expansion course. Bernd Weisweiler, Director, Marketing & Business Development, answers our questions.
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In depthRegulation: Putting customers at heart of DB InfraGO
In its biennial report published on July 1, Germany’s Monopolies Commission calls for measures governing DB InfraGO to be geared more directly to the needs of rail customers.
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In depthFreight: Semi-trailers key to driving modal shift
With semi-trailers accounting for a majority of Europe’s road freight transport, policymakers must provide the right incentives to ensure that they can be used for intermodal applications if long-standing modal shift targets are to be achieved.
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In depthFreight: Turnaround needed at DB Cargo
As Deutsche Bahn’s more flexible competitors eat into the rail freight market, drastic action is required to turn DB Cargo into a viable concern. Murray Hughes reports.
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In depthGermany: Makeover promises long-term stability
‘Too busy, too old and too kaputt’ was how Baden-Württemburg Transport Minister Winfried Hermann described the heavily used main line between Frankfurt and Mannheim. The 70 km route was closed on July 15 for a massive all-in-one rebuild, with reopening set for December 14.
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Rail Business UKTransPennine Express aims to get more out of its fleet
UK: TransPennine Express is seeking to achieve higher levels of performance from its fleet, its Fleet, Safety & Service Delivery Director Paul Staples explained when Rail Business UK recently visited Arwick depot. The operator says it is also ‘anticipating great things’ from the trial conversion of a Hitachi trainset to battery hybrid power.
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In depthInterview: Record funding is flowing – but Germany’s railway must deliver
The building blocks to turn round performance on Germany’s national network are being put in place thanks to an unprecedented investment programme, but Deutsche Bahn and infrastructure arm DB InfraGO must deliver on their promises, warns Federal Minister for Digital & Transport Dr Volker Wissing. Murray Hughes put the questions.
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In depthComment: Contrasting approaches to fixing things
The transport ministers of Britain and Germany are taking contrasting approaches to addressing the problems facing their railways. Dr Volker Wissing believes management reorganisation cannot solve DB’s problems, but his counterpart Louise Haigh is taking the opposite view with Labour’s rail reforms. Nick Kingsley suggests they could learn much from each other.
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Rail Business UKInterview: ‘There’s more to do but we have made excellent progress’
UK: TransPennine Express is ‘making moves in the right direction but we’re under no illusion there’s still much more we need to do‘, the operator’s Managing Director Chris Jackson tells Rail Business UK.
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Rail Business UKViewpoint: the fare evasion prosecution scandal explained
UK: Nathan Seymour-Hyde, Partner and Solicitor at Reeds Solicitors, explains how train operators misused the Single Justice Procedure and why up to 75 000 convictions for fare evasion offences have now been quashed.
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In depthInfrastructure: Understanding the performance of under sleeper pads
Under sleeper pads have been used for ballast protection and improved track geometry over more than 20 years, but a new contact pressure measurement technique has revealed significant differences in their ballast protection properties.
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In depthUK: Delivering a high-capacity rail artery across northern England
A major upgrading programme is in progress to enhance resilience, raise capacity and cut journey times on Network Rail’s busy east-west route through the Pennines between Manchester and Leeds. Murray Hughes investigates.
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In depthMaintenance: Electric drives offer energy-efficient tamping
Real operating data recorded over a long period have demonstrated the energy-saving potential of Plasser & Theurer’s electric drive technology, as well as reducing exhaust emissions.
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In depthEurope: Better planning can keep trains running
Long-term thinking and better planning could help alleviate disruption when infrastructure work is in progress. With a European Regulation on railway capacity due shortly, Forum Train Europe offers a blueprint for the future.
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In depthSouth Korea: Suburban networks take shape
Under pressure to reduce commuting time across the country, policymakers are developing suburban rail services around key conurbations, many making use of spare capacity on existing main lines. Benjámin Zelki reports.
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Rail Business UKInterview: Chiltern Railways is ‘focused on what we can control’
UK: As the rail sector braces itself for major institutional change, Chiltern Railways Managing Director Richard Allan is keen to deliver tangible improvements now. Key investment priorities include decarbonising its rolling stock fleet. Tony Miles posed the questions.
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In depthSouth Korea: Seoul embraces the ‘GTX era’
This year has seen the opening of the first phase of Seoul’s Great Train Express commuter rail Line A, and the start of construction on lines B and C. Plans have also been announced for extensions of all three and three more lines, as the Executive Director of Korea National Railway’s GTX Department Song Hye-chun explains to Benjámin Zelki.
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In depthInfrastructure: Developing a rail resilience framework
Arup has developed a policy document aimed at helping the rail sector to reframe its approach to climate resilience by embracing ‘whole-system’ thinking. Co-author Juliet Mian explains to Nick Kingsley.