Railway policy news – Page 21
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NewsTaxirail lightweight vehicle demonstrator with AI to start trials in 2021
FRANCE: Trials with a self-propelled ultra-lightweight rail vehicle intended for rural railways or lightly-used lines are due to commence towards the end of 2021.
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NewsTemporary rules to keep the Channel Tunnel open
EUROPE: The European Parliament has approved temporary measures designed to ensure that rail operations through the Channel Tunnel can continue once the Brexit transition period ends on January 1 2021. The European Parliament approved the temporary rules under an urgent procedure on December 17 with 684 votes ...
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NewsMission to rethink freight transport
FRANCE: The Senate’s Committee for Regional Planning & Sustainable Development has launched a fact-finding mission to examine the future of freight transport in the face of environmental concerns. The mission’s work is expected to take around six months, with hearings being held across France. The team of ...
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NewsRail to play a key role in EU strategy for ‘green, smart and affordable’ mobility
EUROPE: A trebling of high speed rail travel and doubling of rail freight’s market share are two of the priorities outlined in the European Commission’s Sustainable & Smart Mobility Strategy, which was unveiled in Brussels by Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean on December ...
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NewsMinister promises help to double freight market share
FRANCE: Rail freight will receive the support it needs to become ‘more competitive, more productive and more reliable’, Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari promised delegates at a virtual seminar of regional rail freight operators.
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NewsAmtrak welcomes FRA rule on passenger train performance
USA: After a hotly contested process lasting more than a decade, the Federal Railroad Administration published a Final Rule on November 16 establishing metrics and minimum standards to measure the performance and service quality of inter-city passenger trains.
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NewsPorto – Lisboa high speed link revived under €10∙5bn rail spending programme
PORTUGAL: The government has confirmed its intention to press ahead with rail investment totalling more than €10bn as part of a wider national stimulus programme. The highlight of the package is the revival of a proposal for a high speed rail link between Lisboa and Porto, which was the subject of extensive studies in the mid-2000s.
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NewsTechnical pillar boosts European harmonisation
EUROPE: Harmonised procedures have come into force making the EU Agency for Railways the single certification body for train operators and rolling stock used in international service, as well as for the approval of ERTMS trackside equipment. October 31 was the formal deadline for EU member states ...
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NewsPublic funds to save Italo-NTV
ITALY: From November 10, high speed open access operator Italo-NTV will cut back its services to a bare minimum because a second national lockdown needed to combat Covid-19 has caused demand to collapse.
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NewsAmtrak quick to welcome Biden win
USA: National passenger rail corporation Amtrak was one of the first organisations to welcome the news on November 7 that Joe Biden had won the US presidential election.
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail sets climate change targets
UK: Following on from its recently published long-term environmental sustainability strategy, Network Rail has committed to independently-verified Science-Based Targets to help in the process of climate change mitigation.
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NewsEuropean Commission says České Dráhy may have engaged in predatory pricing
CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Commission has reached a preliminary view that incumbent state passenger operator České Dráhy may have engaged in predatory pricing in breach of EU rules on the Praha – Ostrava route in 2011-19.
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NewsTraxtion targets open access opportunities
SOUTH AFRICA: Rolling stock leasing and engineering company Traxtion Group has announced plans to invest in additional locomotives and wagons to support open access operations as the 22 500 km Transnet network is opened up to new entrants. On October 15 South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced ...
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NewsCall for EU freight transport crisis contingency plan
EUROPE: The Council of the EU, which brings together national ministers from each member state, has called on the European Commission to draw up ‘swiftly’ a pandemic and major crisis contingency plan for the freight sector.
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NewsRail sector targets Generation Z
EUROPE: Rail industry suppliers’ association UNIFE has launched a campaign to raise the awareness of young people about rail, in a bid to encourage them to travel more by train and to consider a career in the rail sector.
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Rail Business UKWales & Borders rail operations to transfer to public control with new role for KeolisAmey
UK: Plans to bring Wales & Borders passenger services under public management have been announced by the Welsh Government, along with a new partnership which would see Transport for Wales continue to work with Keolis and Amey.
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Rail Business UKNational Rail Contracts to succeed ERMAs as cost cutting envisaged
UK: The future direction of passenger contracts is becoming clearer, as insiders confirm that successful negotiations between owning groups and the Department for Transport would see franchised operators move from Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements to new National Rail Contracts. NRCs are expected to continue until post-Covid passenger ...
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NewsNigerian standard gauge network takes shape
NIGERIA: The 1 435 mm gauge north-south railway linking Itakpe, Ajaokuta and Warri has been formally opened for commercial operation, following an inauguration ceremony at Agbor in Delta state.
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NewsFull electrification in record infrastructure spend
AUSTRIA: ‘More than €17bn is being spent on railway projects across the whole country’, said Federal Minister for Climate Protection Leonore Gewessler on October 16, announcing with Austrian Federal Railways CEO Andreas Matthä ‘the biggest railway investment package that the Republic has ever seen’.
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NewsEU track access rebates approved
EUROPE: A regulation permitting European Union member states to waive or defer track access charges in order to support the rail sector through the coronavirus pandemic has been formally adopted by the EU Council and European Parliament.