Railway policy news – Page 28
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NewsShift2Rail invites 2020 research proposals
EUROPE: Within the framework of its Annual Work Plan, the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking issued its 2020 call for proposals on January 7, covering research and innovation projects with a total value of €146·6m. Applications are due by April 21. The call covers 19 topics, of which eight ...
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NewsAuditors warn of Rail Baltica cost and timescale risks
EUROPE: Procedures for managing the Rail Baltica project are mostly in place but inefficiencies and a lack of change and risk management systems mean the project could exceed its agreed budget and timeline, according to a report issued jointly by the national audit bodies of Estonia, ...
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Rail Business UKStakeholders respond to Lord Berkeley’s High Speed 2 dissenting report
UK: Lord Tony Berkeley published a dissenting report into the High Speed 2 project on January 5, calling it ‘the wrong and expensive solution’ to providing better north–south inter-city services and improving services in the Midlands and North of England. He was Deputy Chair of the review ...
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NewsFreight coalition publishes Contingency Management handbook
EUROPE: In a bid to avoid the widespread disruption to international rail traffic which occurred following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt in August 2017, and to provide greater resilience for commercially sensitive traffic, a coalition of rail freight operators and industry associations has put together a Contingency ...
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NewsGo-Ahead takes over Norway’s first tendered services
NORWAY: The first service to be taken over by the private sector as part of the government’s passenger rail tendering programme left Stavanger for Oslo at 06.47 on December 15. National rail authority Jernbanedirektoratet awarded UK-based international transport group Go-Ahead the Lot 1 Sør contract in ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail franchise to end in 2022
UK: The Scottish government will not take up an option for Abellio’s ScotRail franchise to run for the full term, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure & Connectivity Michael Matheson confirmed on December 18. The contract started on April 1 2015 with a minimum term of seven years, ...
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NewsUkraine announces private freight haulage pilot project
UKRAINE: The cabinet has approved plans for a pilot project which would allow private sector companies to haul freight trains on selected sections of the national network. On December 4 Minister of Infrastructure Vladislav Krikli said this could help address a shortage of locomotives at national railway ...
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NewsReform of rail passengers’ rights under discussion
UK: The general approach to reform of Regulation 1371/2007 on rail passengers’ rights has been agreed by the Council of the European Union, which brings together ministers from member states. The Council and the European Parliament will now negotiate the final text, which would be applicable two ...
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NewsPortugal’s only private operator sees concession extended
PORTUGAL: On December 12 the government announced its intention to extend until 2024 the public service contract held by private operator Fertagus, which runs suburban trains serving communities on both sides of the river Tagus in Lisboa. The Council of Ministers suggested that the four year, ...
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NewsERFA calls for state aid guidelines to be updated
EUROPE: The European Rail Freight Association has called on the new European Commission to modernise the State Aid Guidelines for Railway Undertakings to take into account developments in the 11 years since the current guidelines were created. The organisation which represents new entrants to the freight market ...
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NewsRail associations welcome EU Green Deal proposals
EUROPE: Railway industry associations have welcomed the transport sector proposals in the EU Green Deal package outlined by new Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a plenary session of the European Parliament on December 11.
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NewsPRASA put into administration
SOUTH AFRICA: The interim board of Passenger Rail Authority of South Africa has been dismissed, and the troubled organisation has been put into administration Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced on December 9. ‘The continued decline of the quality of service PRASA provides to the commuting ...
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NewsNS CEO calls for comprehensive high speed network
EUROPE: ‘Something is really wrong’ when airlines can offer flights ‘at ridiculous prices’ in Europe, said Roger Van Boxtel, CEO of Dutch national passenger operator NS in the keynote opening session at the World Rail Festival in Amsterdam on December 4. Referring to the UN Climate Change ...
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News‘Romance’ of rail can mitigate skills crisis
AUSTRALIA: The rail sector needs to embrace rapid changes in workplace expectations in order to overcome a looming demographic crisis, delegates at the AusRail conference in Sydney heard on December 4.
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NewsDB plans Arriva flotation in May
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn is looking to float its international public transport operating subsidiary Arriva on the stock market next year, CEO Richard Lutz told local media on December 4.
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NewsCP signs public service contract
PORTUGAL: State-owned train operator Comboios de Portugal has finally signed its first contract to run passenger services on the national rail network.
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News‘Golden age’ in New South Wales, Collins tells AusRail
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales is experiencing ‘a golden age’ of rail investment, Sydney Trains CEO Howard Collins told delegates at the AusRail 2019 conference in Sydney on December 3.
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NewsThree operators awarded Spanish high speed paths
SPAIN: High speed infrastructure manager Adif AV has selected three preferred bidders to negotiate 10-year framework agreements enabling them to operate passenger services on the routes from Madrid east to Valencia and Alacant, south to Sevilla and Málaga and north to Barcelona and the French border. The ...
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NewsNew ERFA President calls for a ‘truly European and competitive’ freight market
EUROPE: BLS Cargo CEO Dirk Stahl was elected as President of the European Rail Freight Association at its board meeting on November 20. Maciej Gladyga, director of Poland’s Land Transport Chamber of Commerce, was elected as Vice-President of the organisation which represents new entrants to the freight ...
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NewsFederal funds to boost Queensland projects
AUSTRALIA: The federal government has committed to increase funding for several railway projects in Queensland, as part of an A$3·8bn package of infrastructure spending announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on November 21. Described by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as a ‘huge win’, the announcement followed lengthy ...