All Policy articles
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NewsAgreement to cut Californian rail project red tape
USA: The California State Transportation Agency and California High-Speed Rail Authority have renewed a 2019 agreement under which the state has taken on the Federal Railroad Administration’s environmental review responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act. California is the only state with NEPA assignment for rail ...
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In depthKazakhstan: Transit freight drives KTZ expansion
New line construction and fleet renewals have cemented Kazakhstan’s position as a key node in the Eurasian transit market. Further expansion is now in hand, with more investment planned by 2030, reports Vladimir Waldin.
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NewsPorto – Lisboa high speed project and Rail Baltica lead latest Connecting Europe Facility grant allocations
EUROPE: Rail projects are to receive 80% of the €7bn of Connecting Europe Facility co-financing grant funding announced by the European Commission on July 17. Schemes covered include Rail Baltica, the Lyon – Torino and Brenner tunnel corridors, numerous ERTMS deployments and work to better integrate ...
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Rail Business UKNationalisation, Great British Railways and devolution plans included in King’s Speech
UK: A package of rail reforms including taking the remaining private train operators into state ownership was unveiled at the state opening of parliament on July 17.
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NewsRail freight associations raise ‘serious concerns’ about digital automatic couplers
EUROPE: ‘Serious concerns’ about the competitive, economic, technical and operational impact of deploying digital automatic couplers have been set out by associations representing private freight operators in central and eastern Europe. They say DAC offers numerous benefits, but ‘hasty and arbitrary solutions could further hamper the ...
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Rail Business UKRail sector responds to Labour general election win
UK: Organisations from across the rail sector have responded to the outcome of the July 4 general election, which saw a landslide victory for the opposition Labour over the previous Conservative government.
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In depthFrance: Fret SNCF faces an uncertain future
Christian Scasso assesses the changes that are set to transform France’s nationalised rail freight operations in 2025.
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NewsPoland recommits to CPK high speed rail programme
POLAND: Prime Minister Donald Tusk has recommitted his government to implementing the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny high speed rail and airport programme. When the current government came to power at the end of last year it quickly initiated a review of the previous administration’s plans for the ...
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NewsParliamentary body to support Brazil’s railway industry
BRAZIL: A political lobby group has been set up to put the case for rail within the country’s political institutions.
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NewsFlytoget eyes an open access future
NORWAY: Airport express operator Flytoget has applied to the national railway authority Statens Jernbanetilsyn to launch open access passenger services on the Sørlandsbanen between Oslo and Kristiansand from December 2027.
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NewsEU state aid rule changes aim to simplify support for sustainable transport
EUROPE: The European Commission has begun public consultation on draft guidelines which are designed to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date set of rules for the granting of state aid for rail and other sustainable land transport modes. The Land & Multimodal Transport Guidelines would replace the ...
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NewsHow to launch a US high speed rail project
USA: The US High Speed Rail Association has published a ‘first-of-its-kind action plan’ designed to equip advocates with practical tips, realistic expectations and strategic support as they work to launch new projects for 300+ km/h railways. High-Speed Rail Project Initiation: A Roadmap for Advocates focuses on ...
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In depthInterview: ‘The commuter experience will be back to its best’
South Africa’s Railway Safety Regulator is tasked with overseeing safe and secure rail services on a network ravaged by vandalism and asset theft over recent years. RSR is also implementing the government’s plan to open up the Transnet network to new entrants. Acting CEO Mmuso Selaledi explains the scale of the challenge to Benjámin Zelki.
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In depthCzech Republic: Ostrava link leads revised core network plan
With limited progress being made on the planned new line between Praha and Dresden, Czech infrastructure manager Správa Železnic is taking forward an initial section of high speed line in the east as part of plans to develop a 400 route-km high-performance backbone. SŽ’s Deputy Director for High Speed Lines Jiří Merta explains the state of progress to Benjámin Zelki.
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NewsMidnight Trains drops plans for hotel quality sleeper train network
FRANCE: Start-up Midnight Trains has abandoned its ambitious plan to develop a network of premium overnight trains offering hotel-standard accommodation on European routes of up to 1 500 km from Paris, after being unable to raise the necessary funding. Co-founder Adrien Aumont said the rail sector’s ...
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Rail Business UKHigh Speed: Birmingham prepares to welcome truncated HS2
Viaducts, depot sites and tunnels are taking shape at the Birmingham end of the 225 km High Speed 2 route. But doubts over completion of what was Phase I of the curtailed scheme continue to swirl. Nick Kingsley reports from Washwood Heath.
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NewsRussian and Chinese railways plan strategic co-operation
INTERNATIONAL: A strategic co-operation agreement was signed by Russian Railways Chairman Oleg Belozerov and his China Railway counterpart Liu Zhenfang when Russia’s President Putin visited China during May. The railways expressed mutual interest in the joint development of international transport corridors, in particular as part of ...
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News€1·7bn rail freight support scheme approved
GERMANY: A government scheme to provide grants to encourage modal shift of road freight to more sustainable rail transport has been approved by the European Commission under EU state aid rules. The scheme will provide direct grants totalling €1·7bn over five years to help rail operators ...
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NewsUS announces federal rules on certification of dispatchers and signalling employees
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has announced two final rules that will require railways to develop certification and training programmes for dispatchers and people who install and maintain signalling systems. Unlike with train crews, there have previously been no federal regulations mandating specific training requirements, safety ...
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In depthFare Collection: Data sharing is key to a complex ticketing landscape
Evolving technologies and changing customer demands are driving change in fare collection, ticketing and payment systems, but railways are just one aspect of an increasingly complex multimodal transport ecosystem, suggests Toma Bačić.