Railway policy news – Page 49
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NewsMarmaray corridor to open in Q1 2019, minister says
TURKEY: Transport Minister Cahit Turhan provided a progress update on November 16 on three new line projects as they near completion under the railway investment Master Plan. The government’s priority is completion of the surface works along the Marmaray corridor which runs across Istanbul from Gebze on the Asian side ...
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NewsUS high speed train safety standards issued
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has amended its safety standards for passenger trains to create a new category covering trains operating at speeds up to 220 miles/h (355 km/h), in what it said was ‘one of the most significant enhancements to the nation’s passenger rail design standards in a century’. ...
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NewsMEPs vote to increase rail passengers’ rights
EUROPE: Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of proposed changes to increase rail passengers’ rights at a plenary session on November 15. MEPs voted 533 in favour of the proposed changes and 37 against with 47 abstentions. Once the European Council has adopted its position, trilogue negotiations will ...
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NewsEBRD backs Ukrainian Railways wagon tender
UKRAINE: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is to provide Ukrainian Railways with a US$150m senior loan to finance the acquisition of up to 6 500 open wagons through an international tender. The provision of financing is to be combined with corporate reforms at UZ and its subsidiaries. This ...
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News
Concerns raised over passenger rights changes
EUROPE: The European Passengers’ Federation and the ALLRAIL association of new market entrants have called for mandatory protection for passengers making multi-leg journeys using separate tickets to be included in the recast of EU regulation COM(2017)0548 covering rail passengers’ rights. This would mean that if a connection were missed as ...
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NewsSmartRail 4.0 pilot within three years
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways expects to launch trials of a next-generation signalling system within three years. Reporting details of progress with the ‘ambitious’ SmartRail 4.0 programme at the Alpine Rail Optimisation conference in Wien on November 8, SBB’s head of Co-operation & Research for the project Bernhard Rytz said the ...
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NewsNigeria plans railway northwards to Niger
NIGERIA: Alongside the many projects to develop new 1 435 mm gauge railways to augment and gradually replace Nigeria’s 1 067 mm gauge network, the government has unveiled plans for a line running north into the neighbouring Niger Republic. The 248 km standard gauge route from Kano to Maradi would ...
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NewsBulgaria referred to court over safety directive compliance
BULGARIA: The European Commission announced on November 8 that it had decided to refer Bulgaria to the Court of Justice of the EU for failure to fully transpose and implement Directive 2004/49/EC on railway safety. The directive requires member states to establish an accident investigation body which is independent in ...
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NewsAssociations welcome Green Deal declaration
EUROPE: Rail sector associations CER, EIM, ERFA, UIP, UIRR and UNIFE have welcomed a political initiative to encourage the evolution of environmentally-friendly transport, following an informal meeting of Transport and Environment ministers in Graz, organised by the current Austrian Presidency of the EU Council. During the meeting on October 29-30, ...
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NewsGerman rail projects added to implementation list
GERMANY: Following detailed studies, 29 rail projects included in the 2030 federal transport infrastructure plan have been added to the priority list for implementation, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer announced on November 6. The decision follows examination of the cost-effectiveness of 44 potential projects, some of which could be added ...
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NewsGreek rolling stock maintenance privatisation deal signed
GREECE: The share transfer agreement for the sale of 100% of rolling stock maintenance business EESSTY to the Trainose train operating subsidiary of FS Group for €22m was signed by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund privatisation agency on October 29. EESSTY was spun out of the former state railway ...
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Editorial Comment20 years to save the planet
‘Rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society’ are needed if global warming is to be limited to 1·5°C above pre-industrial levels, according to an assessment by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Presented in Incheon on October 8, the Special Report on ...
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Rail Business UKRegulator approves £35bn Network Rail spending plan
UK: On October 31 the Office of Rail & Road published its final determination approving infrastructure manager Network Rail’s £34·7bn spending plan for the next five-year funding cycle. This is a key part of the Periodic Review 2018 process, through which ORR sets out what Network Rail is ...
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Rail Business UKRail in the October 2018 UK budget
UK: Northern Powerhouse Rail, East West Rail and the Docklands Light Railway are among the beneficiaries of funding allocations in the budget presented to parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond on October 29. The budget allocates a further £37m for development of the Northern Powerhouse Rail concept for ...
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NewsDriving innovation in rail freight
EUROPE: ‘We need a quantum leap’, suggested DG Move’s Director of Land Transport Elisabeth Werner, speaking at a workshop in Brussels on October 25 to launch the European Rail Industry Freight Agenda. Emphasising that rail freight had a key role to play in the decarbonisation of European transport, Werner warned ...
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NewsState aid for modal shift approved
BELGIUM: The European Commission has approved a state aid scheme which is designed to encourage the modal shift from road to rail and inland waterway of freight traffic to and from Belgian seaports. The €70m scheme running to the end October 2023 provides a subsidy per train or per ...
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NewsShift2Rail announces 2018 grants
EUROPE: Shift2Rail is to provide up to €77·3m of co-funding for 19 research and innovation projects with a total value of €152·6m, the joint undertaking announced on October 17. The funding to be awarded under the 2018 Call for Proposals brings the cumulative spending on railway research to €490m, which ...
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NewsGo-Ahead wins Norway’s first rail tender
NORWAY: Go-Ahead Norge has been selected as the winner of the Lot 1 Sør passenger train operating contract, the first to be tendered by national railway authority Jernbanedirektoratet. The contract announced on October 17 will run for eight years from December 15 2019, with an optional two-year extension. It covers ...
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Rail Business UKCross Country direct award option left open
UK: The Department for Transport has published a prior information notice which would enable it to directly award a contract for the operation of Cross Country services for a maximum of 60 months from the end of Arriva’s current contract in October 2019. Arriva originally won the Cross Country franchise ...
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NewsThree strategic decisions at OTIF General Assembly
INTERNATIONAL: Three strategic decisions were taken at the 13th General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail which was held at the end of September. These covered: the creation of a new appendix on the safe operation of trains, intended to open the way to the ...