Railway policy news – Page 101
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NewsAsian training centre inaugurated
SOUTH KOREA: The International Union of Railways officially inaugurated its training centre for the Asia region, during the recent statutory meetings in Seoul.
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DB restructures in run-up to sale
GERMANY: Details of Deutsche Bahn's future structure were agreed at an extraordinary meeting of the company's supervisory board held on May 15. To permit sale to the private sector of an initial 24·9% stake, the transport businesses are being moved into DB Mobility Logistics AG (below), which already groups the ...
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NewsNew Zealand nationalises
NEW ZEALAND: The government is to buy the New Zealand rail and ferry business of Toll Holdings, Prime Minister Helen Clark and Finance Minister Michael Cullen confirmed on May 5. The price had been a sticking point in negotiations (RG 4.08 p222), but has been agreed at NZ$665m to be ...
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NewsCommission clarifies rules on state aid
EUROPE: The European Commission adopted guidelines clarifying the rules on state aid for railways on April 30. Drawn up to replace inconsistent national 'custom and practice', the guidelines set out how the particular requirements of the rail sector, especially in the most recent EU members, mean that state aid can ...
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NewsPolish regions to own local services
POLAND: Ownership of the state railway's regional passenger business PKP PR is to be transferred from the national to provincial governments under a restructuring programme which was approved by parliament on May 15. Railway holding company PKP SA is to be paid 2·16bn zloty from the state budget to ...
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NewsIs it mission impossible?
Bangladesh is really a large city, and rail-based mass transport will be a necessity. But how should the railway develop its role when it has lost almost all its traffic to road?
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NewsFunding debate rolls on
USA: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has reached agreement with local Democratic party leaders over private-sector participation in the state's proposed 1 287 km high speed rail network (RG 3.08 p151). This is reflected in a bill introduced to the Sacramento legislature at the end of March, which would make ...
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Global traffic keeps rising
INTERNATIONAL: The strong Asian market is continuing to drive up railway traffic across the world, according to the International Union of Railways' analysis of 2007 statistics published on March 31. Collation of passenger and traffic figures submitted by 62 UIC member railways around the world highlights the relationship between ...
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NewsUIC crisis could last until Christmas
Current tensions over the leadership and direction of the International Union of Railways could last until the end of this year, according to insiders attending the organisation's statutory meetings in Seoul on May 18 – 19. Chris Jackson reports from Korea
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NewsPepy charts an expansionist future
FRANCE: Ambitious is the adjective that best describes SNCF's plans for the next five years. Newly-appointed President Guillaume Pepy went public on March 19 with his proposals to expand and develop the French national railway, promising 'a change in pace and scope'. Declaring that SNCF was 'now financially healthy' (Table ...
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Cross-acceptance accord
EUROPE: Meeting in Paris on April 16, the President of Germany's Federal Railway Office Armin Keppel signed an agreement with his counterpart Jean-Paul Troadec from France's Railway Safety Authority endorsing cross-acceptance of railway vehicles between the two countries. The move follows discussions between their transport ministers in March. Cross-acceptance is ...
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New Zealand confirms rail buy-back
NEW ZEALAND: The government is to buy Toll New Zealand's rail and ferry business, Prime Minister Helen Clark and Finance Minister Michael Cullen confirmed on May 5. The price had been a sticking point in negotiations (RG 4.08 p22), but has been agreed at NZ$665m to be settled by June ...
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Tackling the barriers to progress
Competitors are making their presence felt in the Italian market as the national railway prepares to step up the range and quality of its freight and passenger services. Chief Executive of FS Holding SpA Mauro Moretti talks to Nick Kingsley and Murray Hughes
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Partial sale of DB agreed
GERMANY: Six hours of debate that stretched into the night of April 13 ended with the Social Democratic Party agreeing to offer up to 24·9% of Deutsche Bahn to the private sector. A government committee was expected to endorse the plans on April 28, paving the way for the sale ...
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Merkel approves partial sale of DB
GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on April 28 that a government committee had endorsed plans to sell an initial 24·9% stake in Deutsche Bahn to the private sector, with the process due to be completed ahead of national elections scheduled for September 2009. Previous attempts to persuade the left ...
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NewsUIC calls in administrator
INTERNATIONAL: On April 28 the International Union of Railways announced that a Provisional Administrator had been appointed to manage the organisation, pending the calling of an Extraordinary General Meeting. Ms Béatrice Dunogué-Gaffié has been appointed by the Paris-based Court of First Instance following a request from UIC's Chief Executive Luc ...
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Indian Railways moves towards Vision 2025
Presenting his 2008-09 budget to parliament on February 26, India’s Railway Minister Lalu Prasad outlined a picture of continuing investment in modernisation and upgrading. Raghu Dayal reports
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NewsSlow starter is close to high speed launch
The political and environmental climate is right for further expansion of high speed rail
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NewsCounting the cost of competition
SBB plans widespread cost-cutting and job losses in a bid to counter the growing deficits at its freight business.
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Veolia pulls out of Stuttgart S-Bahn bidding race
GERMANY: Veolia has withdrawn from the bidding process to run the Stuttgart S-Bahn. Announcing the decision on February 13, Andreas Winter, Head of Market Development & Communication for Veolia-Verkehr-Gruppe in Germany, said that his company was convinced that competitive bidding was possible for 'complex S-Bahnen and large urban public transport ...