Railway policy news – Page 30
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NewsVDB calls for faster digital roll-out strategy
GERMANY: Rail industry association VDB has put forward a seven-point plan to accelerate the introduction of digital train control across the national rail network, suggesting that an industrial scale roll-out of digital interlockings and ETCS could begin as soon as 2022. The proposals follow the signing on ...
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NewsAmsterdam – London through train agreement to be signed shortly
EUROPE: The international agreement which would permit the operation of through passenger services between the Netherlands and the UK is expected to be signed in October, State Secretary for Justice & Security Ankie Broekers-Knol told the Dutch parliament’s lower house on September 25. Eurostar told Railway Gazette ...
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NewsFritzson re-elected as CER looks ahead
CER Chairman Crister Fritzson and Executive Director Libor Lochman EUROPE: SJ AB President & CEO Crister Fritzson has been re-elected as Chairman of the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies, following the CER General Assembly in Gdańsk on September 23. Fritzson, who also chairs the Swedish ...
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NewsSurface Transportation Board proposes rule changes
USA: The Surface Transportation Board has begun consultation on proposed rule changes intended to reduce the cost and complexity of its rate review procedures, particularly in small cases, and to provide a streamlined market dominance process. The proposals build on recommendations made by STB’s rate reform task ...
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NewsAmber Rail Freight Corridor up and running
EUROPE: An event was held in the Slovenian port of Koper on September 18 to mark the launch this year of the Amber Rail Freight Corridor, the first RFC to be established since the original nine defined in 2010. The corridor is a ...
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NewsFirst ETR1000 trainsets arrive in France for testing
Photo: Christophe Masse FRANCE: The first of two Trenitalia ETR1000 Frecciarossa trainsets arrived in France on September 19 for type approval tests in Bretagne. Trenitalia plans to launch a Paris – Milano high speed service in summer 2020 using a fleet of five ETR1000 trainsets modified for ...
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NewsDB to order more high speed trains as government cuts VAT on fares
Photo: DB AG/Georg Wagner GERMANY: Rail spending is to be increased significantly as part of a €54bn package of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, which was announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel on September 20. In order to reduce the environmental impact of transport and ...
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NewsDB rejects Audit Office claims
Photo: DB AG/Volker Emersleben GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has strongly rejected concerns raised by the Federal Audit Office that it had failed to manage federal funds effectively and that its finances were in disarray. Reports published by press agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur and subsequently in national media said that ...
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NewsCambodia Freight Forwarders call for rail improvements
CAMBODIA: The rail network is not yet working well for freight shippers despite recent improvements, a trade body told the 17th ASEAN Ports & Shipping Conference in Phnom Penh. Moving containers on the 266 km metre-gauge route from the capital and business hub Phnom Penh to the ...
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NewsRovana Plumb nominated as European Commissioner for Transport
EUROPE: Rovana Plumb was nominated as European Commissioner for Transport by Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen on September 10. Plumb is a Social Democratic Party (PSD) member of the Romanian and European parliaments. She has almost two decades of experience in politics, serving as Romania’s Minister ...
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NewsUkrainian railway reform legislation introduced
UKRAINE: Bills for the reform of the railway and inland waterway sectors were introduced to parliament on September 6. The proposed changes follow on from Ukraine’s 2017 Association Agreement with the European Union. ‘These bills present a European model for the rail and inland waterway market’, said ...
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NewsUS$5bn ‘Chile On Rails’ strategy unveiled
Chile on Rails CHILE: President Sebastian Piñera has announced an ambitious US$5bn ‘Chile On Rails’ strategy which includes 25 investment projects covering 1 000 km of railway. The aim is to triple ridership to 150 million passengers/year by 2027, double freight to more than 21 ...
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NewsNorthland line renovation funded
NEW ZEALAND: The government has approved the first NZ$94·8m tranche of an expected NZ$300m from the Provincial Growth Fund to fund renovation and upgrading works on KiwiRail’s 181 km North Auckland Line between Swanson and Whangarei. Speaking in Helensville on September 5, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane ...
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NewsSwiss Combi buys stake in SBB Cargo
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Combi AG, a joint venture formed of four road transport and logistics companies in the private sector, has bought a 35% stake in SBB Cargo AG for an undisclosed sum.
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Rail Business UKHS2 benefits ‘substantially undervalued’ amid rising costs
UK: The Chairman of High Speed 2 Ltd Allan Cook believes that ‘the benefits of the current scheme are substantially undervalued’, according to a ‘stocktake report’ presented to the House of Commons by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on September 3. Updating Parliament on progress ...
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NewsČD fined for anti-competitive bidding
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD has been fined KC274·8m after anti-monopoly office ÚOHS ruled that it had abused its dominant position in an effort to prevent competitors entering the passenger market. ÚOHS found that ČD had violated Czech and EU competition laws by submitting artificially low bids ...
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Rail Business UKLNER to pilot UK rail ticketing reform
UK: East Coast Main Line operator LNER is to pilot proposed reforms to Great Britain’s fares system from January 2 2020, with tickets going on sale from November 29. Announcing the trial on August 29, the Department for Transport said its aim was to ‘significantly boost customer ...
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NewsERFA Secretary General appointed at an ‘exciting moment’
EUROPE: Conor Feighan became Secretary General of the European Rail Freight Association on August 26, succeeding Acting Secretary General Carole Coune. Feighan has joined ERFA from the FEPORT association which represents terminal operators and private port companies. He has had previous roles at the European Parliament and the European ...
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NewsRed Férrea de Atlántico operational support contract awarded
COLOMBIA: National infrastructure authority ANI has awarded Spanish engineering and technology consultancy Airtificial a €1·5m contract to optimise operations on the Red Férrea de Atlántico. The contract covers operations on the 876 route-km linking Bogota, Belencito, La Dorada and Chiriguná. These 914 mm gauge lines had been out of ...
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NewsEstonia plans rail electrification to meet 2030 climate goals
ESTONIA: The Ministry of Economic Affairs & Communications and the Ministry of the Environment are preparing a railway electrification strategy after receiving cabinet backing for the development of proposals. The government envisages that electrification works could be undertaken in 2022-28, supporting the aim of reducing greenhouse gas ...