All In depth articles – Page 14
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In depthNew Zealand: Funding boost drives rail revitalisation
Climate change concerns and a desire to encourage modal shift have unlocked government funding for rail, enabling KiwiRail to address a legacy of under-investment and build a stronger future.
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In depthComment: Automated reality
Automation of main line trains is slowly becoming a commercial reality, having been long established in the urban rail sector. However, mass adoption of driverless technology on mixed traffic railways still seems a long way off, with interim technology such as C-DAS offering many benefits in the meantime.
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In depthGermany: Regional rail model called into question
Problems at Keolis and Abellio suggest that Germany’s long-standing model for contracting out the operation of regional and local rail services may no longer be fit for purpose. Murray Hughes investigates.
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In depthIndia: Railway university bears fruit
Although developed by Indian Railways, the National Rail & Transportation Institute is intended to provide a university-level education and research facility for the country’s wider transport sector. Raghu Dayal explains.
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In depthEurope: Mont Cenis base tunnel takes shape
The award of civil works contracts earlier this summer to build the 57 km base tunnel across the Franco-Italian border has given new impetus to plans to complete a high-capacity corridor between Lyon and Torino. Toma Bačić reports.
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In depthFinland: a positive shock in the far north
As the Finnish rail market opens further to competition, national railway VR Group remains committed to growing its passenger and freight business despite the impact of the pandemic as its Senior Vice-President for Strategy & Corporate Development Ilkka Heiskanen explains to Nick Kingsley.
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In depthDenmark: Getting the passengers back
With a substantial investment strategy in place and negotiations for a new operating contract underway, Denmark’s state passenger operator is positioning itself to drive modal shift in a post-Covid recovery, DSB Chief Executive Flemming Jensen tells Chris Jackson.
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In depthTrack Technology: On track to a greener future
Looking to reduce the environmental impact of railway infrastructure, Pandrol has been working to develop more sustainable track components, manufacturing processes and maintenance techniques.
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In depthTrack Technology: Mobile milling saves rail replacement
A compact milling machine can be used for quick interventions to remove rail defects before the damage becomes too severe.
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In depthTrack Technology: Designing slab track for a 360 km/h railway
A version of the Porr modular slab track laid on sections of the Berlin – München high speed line has been chosen for the initial phases of the UK’s HS2 project between London, Birmingham and Crewe.
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In depthComment: Look forward not back
As the Connecting Europe Express completes its tour of the continent in Paris on October 7, the rail industry must use the momentum generated by the EU’s Year of Rail to develop a competitive sector which is able to attract a new generation of users and staff, argues our Editor-in-Chief Chris Jackson.
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In depthFreight: Medway takes on the trucks
Portuguese rail freight operator Medway was launched five years ago when MSC acquired the incumbent CP Carga. President Carlos Vasconcelos explains to Andre Pires that electrification, longer trains and a focus on intermodal traffic are key to future Iberian rail freight growth.
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In depthComment: Climate goals to trump profits
What does the future hold for Germany’s railways and for incumbent national railway holding group Deutsche Bahn in particular? Rail policy will be a critical item on the agenda of the next government, but significant challenges remain if ambitious targets for rail growth are to be met, argues our Consultant Editor Murray Hughes.
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In depthNorth America: UP targets Texas markets
A relative latecomer to the region, Union Pacific is now the largest rail operator serving the Lone Star state, and is continuing to invest in capacity expansion to serve a rapidly changing industrial mix, as Dave Lustig explains.
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In depthFreight: An intermodal gateway emerges in northeast Europe
Connected since July to the Polish border by a standard gauge link, the Kaunas Intermodal Terminal in Lithuania is set to become a strategic hub for the Baltic States as part of the wider Rail Baltica programme.
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In depthFreight: CargoFlex enters the digital era
Fitted to intermodal trains in Switzerland, Voith’s CargoFlex autocoupler builds on experience in the passenger sector, and is now being upgraded with a full digital capability.
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In depthFreight: Delivering Europe’s digital coupler
Testing of four prototype digital automatic coupler designs is underway as a deployment programme takes shape aimed at boosting the productivity and competitiveness of rail freight operations across Europe by 2030. However, much remains to be done.
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In depthFreight: STB juggles merger challenges
Over the coming months, the US Surface Transportation Board must rule on two proposed mergers involving Class I railroads, at a time of increasing calls for more competition in the US transport sector. Chris Jackson investigates.
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In depthAfrica: Mixed fortunes in Tunis
While the first passengers are due to travel over a newly built section of the Tunisian capital’s RFR suburban network later this year, the government and its contractors are struggling to complete future phases of the programme. Christian Scasso investigates.
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In depthMy Life in Rail: Verena Schraml
Germany has more work to do to spread the message that rail roles are increasingly attractive for women, explains Verena Schraml, a local operations manager for Go-Ahead Deutschland, based in Stuttgart.