Railway policy news – Page 67
-
NewsThree Rail Baltica funding agreements signed
EUROPE: Three grant agreements for the Rail Baltica project with a total value of €734m were signed by the EU's Innovation & Networks Executive Agency in Tallinn on November 24. The grants have been awarded under the 2014 call for Connecting Europe Facility funding, and cover planning and construction works ...
-
NewsNAO identifies emerging risks to franchising
UK: There are ‘emerging risks’ to achieving value for money, the National Audit Office warns in its report on the Department for Transport’s management of the passenger rail franchising programme which was published on November 24. These include uncertainty around infrastructure projects, a reduction in market interest and ‘stretched’ resources ...
-
NewsFrance announces security checks for international rail passengers
FRANCE: Equipment to enable passengers and their luggage to be scanned prior to boarding Thalys services in Paris and Lille is to be installed before December 20, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development & Energy Ségolène Royal has announced. During an interview with radio station France Inter, the minister ...
-
NewsSlovakia calls tenders for long-distance operating contract
SLOVAKIA: The Ministry of Transport has called for tenders for its first contract to operate subsidised long-distance passenger services. This is intended as the initial stage in a long-term plan to liberalise the passenger market. The tender announced on November 6 covers the 230 km Bratislava – Banská Bystrica ...
-
NewsGateway Development Corp to lead trans-Hudson tunnel project
USA: Officials from the states of New York and New Jersey announced on November 12 that a governance model has been agreed to take forward plans for an additional rail tunnel beneath the Hudson river between Newark and New York. A four-party entity known as the Gateway Development Corp would ...
-
NewsTRAN Committee approves technical pillar of Fourth Railway Package
EUROPE: Meeting on November 10, the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport & Tourism approved the trialogue agreement between Parliament, the Commission and Council covering the technical pillar of the Fourth Railway Package. The technical pillar incorporates three legislative measures intended to remove technical obstacles to cross-border operations and expedite ...
-
NewsScope of Shaw Report into Network Rail’s future published
UK: HS1 Ltd Chief Executive Nicola Shaw published a document on November 12 setting out the scope of the report into the future structure and financing of infrastructure manager Network Rail which the government has commissioned her to produce. The Shaw Report will look forward around 10 years from ...
-
NewsThree EU Rail Freight Corridors launched
EUROPE: The Scandinavian–Mediterranean, Baltic–Adriatic and North Sea–Baltic rail freight corridors were officially launched on November 10. They join six which have been operations since November 2013, completing the EU’s European Rail Network for Competitive Freight. Set up under Regulation 913/2010, the RFCs are a European Commission initiative intended ...
-
NewsEU invites proposals for next round of Connecting Europe Facility funding
EUROPE: The European Commission has issued its second call for proposals under the 2014-20 Connecting Europe Facility, with €7·6bn available to co-fund projects which will improve EU transport infrastructure. Rail-specific focuses in the latest call include funding for projects on the nine designated Trans-European corridors, for interoperability and for ERTMS. ...
-
NewsEurostar sale ‘represented value for money’ says NAO
UK: On November 6 the National Audit Office published a report into the £757·1m sale of the UK's interest in cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar International, concluding that the government achieved its objective of maximising proceeds and that the sale represented value for money for taxpayers. However, Meg Hillier ...
-
NewsCongress extends PTC deadline by three years
USA: The potential shutdown of many rail services on January 1 has been avoided, after Congress approved a three-year extension of the federally-mandated December 31 deadline for the installation of Positive Train Control. The installation of PTC by the deadline was not considered feasible by the industry, and without ...
-
NewsUkrainian Railways becomes joint stock company
UKRAINE: National railway Ukrzaliznytsia was formally registered as a state-owned joint stock company with an authorised capital of 229·9bn hryvnia on October 21. This replaces its previous status as an integral part of the Ministry of Transport, and is intended to give the organisation a more commercial ...
-
NewsNew guidance on handling passenger complaints
UK: The Office of Rail & Road issued new guidance on complaints handling procedures for the rail industry on October 26, saying it aimed to reflect developments including social media and ‘ensure that the industry is keeping pace with the changing needs and expectations of passengers.’ The previous guidance from ...
-
NewsNorfolk Southern to stop accepting traffic ahead of PTC deadline
USA: Ahead of the now unachievable December 31 deadline for the introduction on PTC on routes carrying passenger trains and certain hazardous freight traffic, Norfolk Southern announced on October 20 that it would stop accepting shipments of poisonous-inhalation-hazard commodities with effect from December 1. NS has also written to Amtrak, ...
-
NewsScrap inter-city franchising, say Virgin and Stagecoach
UK: Stagecoach Group and Virgin have called for the replacement of the ‘confused and damaging’ system whereby franchised and open-access train operators compete on inter-city routes. In their joint response to a Competition & Markets Authority consultation on options for increasing on-rail competition, Stagecoach and Virgin suggest a new ...
-
NewsMinisters agree on political pillar of Fourth Railway Package
EUROPE: European Union transport ministers reached unanimous agreement on the general approach to the political pillar of the Fourth Railway Package at a meeting of the EU Transport Council on October 8. The ministers endorsed the two principles of gradual opening of member states’ domestic rail markets and proposals intended ...
-
NewsInvestment agency takes majority stake in Polish regional operator
POLAND: The treasury’s industrial development and restructuring agency Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu has acquired a 51% stake in Przewozy Regionalne from the 16 voivodships, which were given joint ownership of the regional passenger train business when it was spun out of state railway group PKP. The voivodships retain 49%. The government ...
-
NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail market sounding begins
ASIA: Malaysian land transport commission SPAD and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority have jointly launched a market-sounding exercise for the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project. The proposed 330 km line would offer a 90 min journey time between the cities. The request for information issued on October ...
-
NewsFinnish passenger market to be opened to competition
FINLAND: Proposals for opening the passenger rail market to competition are to be published in spring next year, Minister of Transport & Communications Anne Berner announced on October 1. The ministry is to study the possible options for competition, aiming to identify the most viable model for Finnish conditions ...
-
NewsPTC deadline extension legislation introduced
USA: Bipartisan legislation which would extend the December 31 2015 deadline for the implementation of Positive Train Control was introduced by the leaders of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure on September 30. This follows a Government Accountability Office study which confirmed that most railways would not be able ...