Railway policy news – Page 43
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Metro Report InternationalTrams, trolleybuses and a greener depot for Plzeň
CZECH REPUBLIC: Plzeň transport operator PMDP and the European Investment Bank have signed a €50m loan agreement which will be used to finance the purchase of 34 trams and approximately 34 trolleybuses to replace existing vehicles, as well as the modernisation of the Slovany tram depot and power supply infrastructure. ...
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NewsCP and EMEF to merge ahead of market opening
PORTUGAL: The government has approved a €45m capital investment programme for both national operator CP and rolling stock maintenance business EMEF. To be funded from the state budget, the 2019-22 plan approved on June 27 has two parts. The first covers investment of €9m in 2019, primarily to enable EMEF ...
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NewsFinnish passenger tendering plan put on hold
FINLAND: Recently-appointed Minister of Transport & Communications Sanna Marin has suspended plans to call tenders for the operation of regional passenger services in southern Finland. On June 27 the ministry said that the preparatory process had shown that it would not be possible to proceed as planned. A fair and ...
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Metro Report InternationalBergen aims to be the electric bus capital of the Nordic region
NORWAY: Bergen public transport authority Skyss has awarded two contracts for the operation of the city’s bus services with electric and biogas vehicles. Keolis has operated the city’s tramway since 2020, and has now won its first bus contract in Norway. The NKr280m/year Bergen Central contract runs ...
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Metro Report InternationalFTA grant for Dallas light rail capacity improvement
USA: Dallas Area Rapid Transit has signed a $61m grant agreement with the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration for the lengthening of platforms at 28 stops on the Red and Blue lines. The grant announced on June 27 is part of FTA’s Capital Investment Grants programme. ...
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NewsRENFE seeks to take on the TGV
FRANCE: On July 1, RENFE Operadora confirmed its intention to enter the French high speed passenger market, saying it had lodged the relevant applications with regulator Arafer, safety authority EPSF and infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau. The Spanish national operator would compete with incumbent SNCF on high speed routes initially using ...
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NewsSão Paulo state seeks to relaunch passenger network
BRAZIL: A state-wide X-shaped network of passenger services could be reintroduced to the main line network in São Paulo under plans being developed by Governor João Doria. The initial service would link São Paulo with Campinas, a distance of around 100 km. The proposals envisage adapting existing ...
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NewsChina out in front with the world’s fastest trains
INTERNATIONAL: China now has the fastest regular timetabled trains in the world, significantly faster than any other country, according to Railway Gazette’s biennial World Speed Survey, which appears in the July 2019 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine. Compiled by Jeremy Hartill of the Railway Performance Society, using data for ...
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NewsSwitzerland: Competitive stress
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways CEO Andreas Meyer believes that SBB could be forced into a position where it became a residual operator if the federal government were to pursue further its policy of on-rail competition. In an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung on May 29, Meyer reiterated ...
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Metro Report InternationalSiemensstadt S-Bahn funding agreement
GERMANY: The long-disused S-Bahn branch to the Berlin suburb of Siemensstadt and Gartenfeld is set to be reactivated following the signing of an agreement between Deutsche Bahn’s Board Member for Infrastructure Ronald Pofalla and the city’s Mayor Michael Müller on July 28 to fund the necessary planning studies at an ...
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NewsEast Norway passenger operating contract plan announced
NORWAY: Railway agency Jernbanedirektoratet has announced its preferred option for tendering the operation of passenger services around Oslo and southeast Norway. This follows a study of eight options for grouping the routes which it undertook on behalf of the Ministry of Transport & Communications. The two operating contracts would be ...
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NewsSwitzerland approves SFr13bn infrastructure investment package
SWITZERLAND: The upper house of Parliament (Ständerat) voted unanimously on June 21 in favour of a further phase of rail infrastructure expansion to eliminate bottlenecks, allow more frequent services and make stations more accessible. Worth SFr12∙89bn, the investment package known as STEP 2035 (Strategische Entwicklungsprogramm Bahninfrastruktur) covers around 200 large ...
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NewsDavenne takes over at UIC
INTERNATIONAL: The appointment of François Davenne as Director General of the International Union of Railways was formally confirmed at the UIC General Assembly in Budapest on June 25. Taking over with effect from July 1, he succeeds Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, who has served as UIC Director General since ...
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Metro Report InternationalFive-year Boston transport investment plan approved
USA: The Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority voted on June 18 to approve the 2020-24 capital investment plan. This includes a contribution of $753·7m towards the Red and Orange metro line fleet replacement. CRRC is supplying 252 cars for the Red Line and ...
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Metro Report InternationalPATH Improvement Plan revealed
USA: The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey unveiled the PATH Improvement Plan on June 20. The proposals envisage capacity increases as well as measures to improve reliability and passenger experience on the metro network linking New York with New Jersey. Capacity increases are to ...
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NewsFehmarn Belt link financing investigation opens
DENMARK: The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to determine whether the public financing model for the Fehmarn Belt fixed link is aligned with EU state aid rules. Under the intergovernmental agreement between Denmark and Germany, Denmark will be the sole owner and will bear the full risk for ...
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Metro Report InternationalErzurum tramway project receives government approval
TURKEY: The Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure has approved the construction of a tram line in Erzurum. Planning has been underway since 2015, and the government has allocated TL890m for the project. Due to be built in five years, the 15·5 km first phase would link the ...
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Metro Report InternationalSydney and Parramatta projects in New South Wales budget
AUSTRALIA: Rail projects in Sydney and Parramatta are included in the 2019-20 New South Wales budget, which was presented on June 18. The City & Southwest metro extension from Chatswood to Bankstown via central Sydney, which is expected to open in 2024, is to receive A$1·2bn in ...
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NewsChina Railway Corp becomes China State Railway Group Co
CHINA: China Railway Corp was officially restructured as China State Railway Group Co on June 18, with China Railway and CR as its official English-language short name and abbreviation. China Railway is a solely state-owned enterprise with registered capital of 1·74tr yuan, established in accordance with company law. Its responsibilities ...
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NewsFlixTrain seeks to enter French passenger market
FRANCE: FlixMobility GmbH has lodged an application with rail regulator Arafer to launch five inter-city routes from January 1 2021. The FlixTrain-branded services would cover four domestic routes as well as one international route. The proposed services are seven return trains per day between Paris Nord and Brussels Nord ...