Railway policy news – Page 34
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News
Rail agreements reached at the Belt & Road Forum
INTERNATIONAL: Railway projects were included in the ‘283 concrete results’ announced by the hosts following the Second Belt & Road Forum for International Co-operation, which was held in Beijing on April 25-27. The forum was organised by the Chinese government to bring together heads of government and other senior figures ...
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Rail Business UKRDG proposes arms-length body to oversee UK rail
UK: Greater accountability to rail users and devolved authorities is envisaged under proposals from the Rail Delivery Group published on April 30, along with the establishment of an ‘independent national organising body’ to co-ordinate and oversee the entire rail sector. Unveiling its proposals to the Williams Rail Review, which has ...
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NewsHauts-de-France starts regional tendering
FRANCE: Proposals to tender the operation of regional passenger services in Hauts-de-France from the end of 2022 were unveiled by the regional council on April 23. Following the lead set by Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur last month, the region is planning to open up local rail services to competition in line with ...
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Rail Business UKVirgin Trains proposes airline model for long-distance rail travel
UK: A complete rethink of the way long-distance rail services in Great Britain are operated forms a key part of Virgin Trains’ submission to the government’s Williams Rail Review of the rail industry. Despite the possibility that Virgin Trains will cease operating rail services in the UK within the next ...
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Rail Business UKYRP celebrates 10 years of success
Professional networking and educational group Young Rail Professionals has developed an important role in a fragmented UK rail sector. Nick Kingsley asks co-founder Paul Cooper and former Chair Sabrina Ihaddaden to reflect on the organisation’s achievements in its first decade.
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News‘National Train’ EMUs on course for delivery this year
TURKEY: State-owned passenger train manufacturer Tüvasaş expects to begin construction of the first of 21 five-car electric multiple-units under the National Train programme ‘within the next two months’. The first trains should be handed to operator TCDD Tasımacılık before the end of the year, the company told Railway Gazette at ...
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NewsUN committee backs Luxembourg Protocol
AFRICA: A committee of experts from African finance, planning and economic development ministries has endorsed the adoption of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to encourage private investment in railway assets across the continent. Meeting in Marrakech, under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the committee ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Eastern franchise award delayed
UK: The start of the next South Eastern passenger franchise has been delayed ‘while we make a decision on the competition’, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling confirmed to parliament on April 9. The Department for Transport is negotiating a short-term extension to its current agreement with Govia. This ...
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Rail Business UKStagecoach disqualified from three franchises in pension dispute
UK: Stagecoach Group has been disqualified from the Department for Transport’s three current passenger franchise competitions, the company announced on April 10. Incumbent Stagecoach had been shortlisted for the East Midlands franchise, which the DfT announced on April 10 had been won by Abellio, and for the West Coast Partnership ...
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NewsSweden to fund international night trains
SWEDEN: Overnight trains connecting Sweden with several international European destinations are to be introduced as part of government proposals to facilitate environmentally-friendly transport. Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth announced on March 31 that the Social Democratic, Centre and Green parties had reached agreement to include a SKr50m framework grant in the ...
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NewsRail projects awarded EU funding
EUROPE: A number of rail schemes are included in a €4bn allocation of Cohesion funding for 25 major infrastructure projects in 10 EU member states which was announced by the European Commission on April 2. Czech Republic: €76m for the modernisation of the Praha – Plzeň line, including track renewals, ...
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News
EU announces €200m for projects including ERTMS deployment
EUROPE: Projects to accelerate the deployment of ERTMS and the roll out of infrastructure for the use of ‘alternative’ fuels are eligible to apply for funding under the CEF Transport Blending Facility launched by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank on March 28. The facility is designed to ...
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NewsDB to dispose of Arriva
EUROPE: The Deutsche Bahn AG supervisory board confirmed on March 27 its intention to dispose of the company’s international operating subsidiary Arriva, Railway Gazette’s sister publication Rail Business has reported. DB’s management team has been tasked with developing options for the transaction, which could either take the shape of a ...
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NewsCape Town seeks suburban rail devolution
SOUTH AFRICA: Plans to transfer the operation of commuter services from Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa to an organisation appointed by the city council were confirmed on March 26 when the city announced that four bids had been received for a tender to provide consultancy services. ...
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Rail Business UKMayor calls for TfL to replace Network Rail as infrastructure manager
UK: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called for Transport for London to replace Network Rail as the infrastructure manager for routes which are used by suburban passenger services operated under concessions awarded by TfL. The proposal forms part of TfL’s submission of its views to a review of the ...
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NewsLithuania to reinstate rail link to Latvia
LITHUANIA: Following a competitive tender, national railway Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai has awarded Skinest Rail subsidiary Vitras-S a contract worth €9·38m plus VAT to reinstate the line connecting Mažeikiai with Rengė in Latvia, which had been closed in controversial circumstances. The project includes the rebuilding or repair of 19 km of track, ...
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NewsBroad gauge freight route to Wien is ‘crucial’, says RZD
INTERNATIONAL: Russian Railways Chief Executive Oleg Belozerov says that the company is wrestling with growth rates of 30% in a year in transit freight between Asia and Europe. Addressing the International Railway Congress which began in Wien on March 18, he suggested that RZD had increased its forecasts for transit ...
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NewsInteroperability needed in South America, says UIC
SOUTH AMERICA: The International Union of Railways and the Latin American Railway Association signed a memorandum of understanding in São Paulo on March 19 covering co-operation in staff training and education, railway engineering, passenger and freight transport, tourist trains and the exchange of data. ‘Railways in Latin America should be ...
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NewsAn academic route to train track specialists
ISRAEL: The first intake of students is expected to enrol in May at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa as ISR and the Ministry of Transport launch a programme to train more track engineers. Historically, the national railway was able to draw on a large community ...
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NewsLithuanian Railways restructuring underway
LITHUANIA: The restructuring of national railway Lietuvos Geležinkeliai into a state-owned holding company with stand-alone passenger, freight and infrastructure business is underway, with completion planned for the second quarter of this year. LG said the change was intended to increase transparency and operational efficiency and to comply with the requirements ...