Railway policy news – Page 70
-
NewsPTC installation by December ‘not possible’, warns APTA
USA: The requirement to install Positive Train Control on all commuter routes by December 31 2015 under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 ‘was never a realistic deadline set by Congress’ and ‘is not possible’, American Public Transportation Association President & CEO Michael Melaniphy said in a statement issued ...
-
NewsNorway sets out plans for railway reform
NORWAY: Proposals for reform of the railway sector have been announced by Minister of Transport & Communications Ketil Solvik-Olsen and representatives from the government parties Høyre and Fremskrittspartiet and their parliamentary support parties Venstre and Kristelig Folkeparti. A white paper was published on May 12 and is to be presented ...
-
NewsEuropean Commission approves SNCF control of Eurostar
EUROPE: The European Commission announced on May 13 that it had approved a shareholders’ agreement which will see French national railway SNCF acquire sole management control of cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar International Ltd. This approval is subject to commitments which are designed to facilitate the entry of new ...
-
NewsCowra Lines tender fails to find private operator
AUSTRALIA: The government of New South Wales has been unsuccessful in its attempt to find a private operator to revive the dormant Cowra Lines for freight services, New South Wales Minister for Roads, Maritime & Freight Duncan Gay has announced. The 200 km Cowra Lines running from Blayney to Harden ...
-
NewsTurkish rail market opening coming this year
TURKEY: Legislation outlining the legal framework for liberalisation of the railway sector was published in the government’s official journal on May 2. Publication of the Law on Capacity Allocation & Network Access paves the way for market opening to be introduced by the end of this year, with state railway ...
-
NewsLighthouse railway research projects launched
EUROPE: The first three railway research and development projects to be funded from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme were officially launched in Brussels on May 7. Selected by the European Commission following the first 'Mobility for Growth' call for proposals, the so-called lighthouse projects are intended to bridge the ...
-
NewsECP brakes mandated as tank car standards are tightened
NORTH AMERICA: Electronically-controlled pneumatic braking will be required on unit trains carrying high-hazard flammable materials after January 2021, under a new rule announced in Washington DC on May 1 by US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt. Other measures to improve safety include enhanced construction standards ...
-
NewsVictoria budget kicks off 10-year rolling stock spend
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government has allocated more than A$6bn for rail investment in its 2015-16 budget, announced by Treasurer Tim Pallas on May 5. The headline element is A$2bn for rolling stock investment as the first tranche of a 10-year programme to strengthen local public transport and revitalise the ...
-
NewsProcurement office halts S-Bahn Nürnberg contract award
GERMANY: On April 28 the Südbayern procurement office of the Oberbayern regional authority cancelled the award of an operating contract for the S-Bahn Nürnberg suburban network to National Express Group. Incumbent DB Regio lodged an appeal following the decision on February 2 by Bayern railway authority BEG to name National ...
-
NewsNS uncovers tendering irregularities
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS announced on April 28 that it had discovered ‘serious irregularities’ during an internal compliance investigation at its Qbuzz subsidiary. This followed the award of a 15-year concession to operate a range of regional passenger services in the Limburg region. After an international tendering competition, the ...
-
NewsCP Carga and EMEF to be privatised
PORTUGAL: The cabinet approved plans to privatise the freight and rolling stock maintenance subsidiaries of national operator CP at a meeting on March 26. The government says that it is planning to sell up to 100% of the share capital of CP Carga and EMEF. In both cases, the aim ...
-
NewsRDC seeks more paths in Sylt Shuttle auction
GERMANY: Open access operator RDC Deutschland has applied to operate up to 59 additional car-carrying shuttle services a day between Niebüll and Westerland on the island of Sylt from December 2015. Applications for additional paths over the 39 km route closed on April 13 after RDC Deutschland secured a ...
-
NewsConsultation on Bulgarian railway recovery strategy
BULGARIA: A draft strategy for the development of the rail network in 2015-22 and the restructuring of state railway company Holding BDZ was published for consultation by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology & Communications on April 7. Minister Ivaylo Moskovski said ‘joint and targeted actions’ by National Railway Infrastructure ...
-
NewsRussian and Vietnamese railways sign co-operation agreement
VIETNAM: The construction of a railway line in the south of Vietnam could be the pilot project for the joint development of infrastructure under a co-operation agreement which was signed by national railway DSVN and Russian Railways during Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s official visit to Hanoi on April 6. ...
-
NewsReform to encourage competition
SPAIN: Development Minister Ana Pastor has presented the cabinet with proposals for a package of rail legislation that the government intends to bring to parliament following 'extensive' public hearings involving the rail sector. As well as transposing European Directive 2012/34, the legislation aims to encourage new high speed ...
-
News'Imperative need' for Gulf railways to standardise
MIDDLE EAST: The importance of harmonising standards across railway projects to enable the development of a coherent and interoperable network across the Gulf region was highlighted at the 1st International Conference on Railway Interoperability, Standardisation & Harmonisation in the Middle East. The event in Doha on March 30-31 ...
-
NewsRegional focus underpins YRP expansion
UK: Membership of the Young Rail Professionals networking and ambassadorial organisation has doubled in the past year to reach more than 2 000, Chairman Stephen Head told an audience of corporate supporters in Derby on March 31. Mounting concern over the rail industry’s ability to attract and retain the staff ...
-
NewsTrain leasing agency approved
GERMANY: In an effort to encourage competition for passenger operating contracts, on March 12 Baden-Württemberg’s parliament passed a law creating an agency which will procure rolling stock for lease to train operators. Land Transport Minister Winfried Hermann said that independent operators bidding to run local services are offered less favourable ...
-
NewsEuropean Commission launches investigation into proposed 520 km/h test track
SPAIN: The European Commission is to undertake an in-depth investigation into whether proposals for public funding of a planned high speed rail test centre near Málaga would be compatible with state aid rules. The Spanish government has proposed that the planned Centro de Ensayos de Alta Tecnología Ferroviaria would ...
-
NewsMTR launches open access inter-city service
SWEDEN: Head-to-head competition came to the 455 km Stockholm – Göteborg corridor on March 21 when open access operator MTR Express launched commercial services. Initially operating around 50 trains per week, rising to 90 from August, MTR Express is offering an end-to-end journey time of 3 h 19 min with ...