Railway policy news – Page 27
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NewsRomania ordered to recover €570m of state aid to freight operator
ROMANIA: The European Commission has ordered the government to recover €570m of state aid incompatible with EU rules which national freight operator CFR Marfă received through a debt write-off and failure to collect debts. The Commission said rail freight transport in Romania is highly competitive, with numerous ...
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NewsSpanish infrastructure managers fined for inflated access charges
SPAIN: Competition regulator CNMC has fined infrastructure managers ADIF and ADIF Alta Velocidad for imposing excessive access charges. However, under current railway legislation, the maximum fine is just €6 300, which CNMC believes is too low to enable it to perform its duties as a regulator. For ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern franchise termination was the only option, says Transport for the North
Industry sources have expressed some unease at the decision to terminate Arriva’s franchise rather than agree to its proposals for stabilisation. But termination was the only available option, Transport for the North Strategic Rail Director David Hoggarth tells Rail Business UK’s Tony Miles.
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NewsGateway Basel Nord secures next phase funding but faces another legal setback
SWITZERLAND: The Grand Council of Basel-Stadt voted on February 12 to approve funding for a loan worth SFr115∙53m to enable construction of a new basin forming part of the Gateway Basel Nord trimodal terminal to go ahead. Known as Dock 3, the 330 m long basin would ...
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NewsIllegally-closed cross-border railway reopened
EUROPE: The reinstated 19 km railway between Mažeikiai in Lithuania and Rengė in Latvia was officially reopened February 15, when ministers and officials from both countries attended a ceremony to mark the departure of a train carrying oil to Latvia from Orlen’s Lithuanian refinery. ...
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NewsRecord capital expenditure for Indian Railways in 2020-21
INDIA: A 17% year-on-year increase in capital expenditure for Indian Railways in 2020-21 was announced when Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman presented the national budget on February 1. The Ministry of Railways said the emphasis would be on continuing capacity enhancement works, and accelerating implementation to make ...
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NewsRail and air associations to co-operate on ticketing
INTERNATIONAL: The International Union of Railways and the International Air Transport Association have signed a memorandum of understanding covering co-operation in standard setting and interoperability, with a focus on data exchange to support intermodal travel. Areas for co-operation include: journey planning; reservations; ticketing, including irregular operations ...
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NewsNew Zealand government announces investment in commuter capacity and freight
NEW ZEALAND: Rail has been allocated a NZ$1·1bn share of a NZ$6·8bn package of transport infrastructure funding announced by the government on January 29. Transport Minister Phil Twyford said the rail investment was targeted at getting lorries off the roads and improving passenger services, particularly at busy ...
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Rail Business UKNo immediate changes to follow Northern nationalisation
UK: The Northern franchise which is currently held by Arriva will be nationalised on March 1, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps confirmed in a widely-anticipated announcement on January 29. This follows severe performance problems. Last year the Secretary of State requested proposals for the franchise ...
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NewsDB to support Ukrainian rail reform
UKRAINE: The Ministry of Infrastructure has signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Bahn covering co-operation in the transport sector and the development of national railway Ukrzaliznytsia.
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NewsSerbia to invest €3·5bn in rail infrastructure
SERBIA: The government has announced planned railway infrastructure spending of €3·5bn as part of the €14bn Serbia 2025 national investment programme. The rail elements include modernisation of the 208 km Valjevo – Vrbnica section of the Beograd – Bar line, and construction of an integrated traffic control ...
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NewsStagecoach Group joins new market entrants’ association ALLRAIL
EUROPE: Public transport operating group Stagecoach has joined the ALLRAIL association of new entrants to the European rail market. ‘As a major operator of rail services in the UK for over two decades and with significant experience of operating public transport services across Europe, we are pleased ...
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Rail Business UKWilliams Review to lead to legislation as franchising ‘not the way forward’
UK: Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris confirmed on January 21 that the forthcoming Williams Review into the future structure of the UK rail sector would lead to a white paper outlining reforms to the rail industry structure. Addressing a Westminster Hall debate in the House of Commons about ...
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NewsMatthä to head CER as Fritzson steps down
EUROPE: Austrian Federal Railways’ CEO Andreas Matthä was elected as Acting Chair of the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies at its meeting on January 20.
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Rail Business UK‘Think about the total energy needed to move the trains’
UK: ‘Think about the total energy needed to move the trains’, was the message Helen Simpson, Innovation & Projects Director at leasing company Porterbook, presented to policymakers at a well-attended meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group on January 14. Simpson said achieving ...
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NewsLying not flying, as Nightjet sleeper train reaches Brussels
EUROPE: Under the slogan ‘lying not flying’, Austrian Federal Railways launched its twice-weekly Wien – Brussels Nightjet overnight train on January 19. The ceremony at Wien Hbf was attended by Austria’s Minister of Climate Protection, Environment, Mobility, Innovation & Technology Leonore Gewessler as well as members of ...
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NewsFarandou reshapes SNCF leadership team
FRANCE: A new management structure for the ‘unified’ SNCF group was unveiled by President & CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou on January 16, following the first board meeting of the national railway group since the 2018 reforms came into effect on January 1.
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NewsMalmö – Köln suggested as first route for a network of night trains
EUROPE: Swedish transport agency Trafikverket has suggested that Malmö – Köln could be the first route to be launched as part of a proposed network of overnight trains connecting Sweden with other European countries, and that a start data as early as 2022-23 could be possible. ...
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News‘The wow effect is coming’ as German government signs €86bn rail programme
GERMANY: The €86bn LuFV III railway operating and financing agreement running to 2030 was signed by Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz and Board Member for Infrastructure Ronald Pofalla on January 14, at a ceremony attended by Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz.
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Rail Business UKNorthern franchise is no longer viable, says Shapps
UK: The current Northern rail franchise is no longer financially viable and will have to be replaced by some form of management contract, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps confirmed in a written statement to the House of Commons on January 9.