Railway policy news – Page 81
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NewsAll franchising on hold as InterCity West Coast award cancelled
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has commissioned an urgent review of the franchise tendering programme, following the discovery of significant failings in the bidding process for the InterCity West Coast franchise which was due to change hands on December 9. The Department of Transport had selected FirstGroup ...
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NewsPrima II tested in the Channel Tunnel
EUROPE: An Alstom Prima II electric locomotive was tested in the Channel Tunnel on the night of September 29-30, with a view to enabling standard locomotives to be used on freight trains through the Tunnel. Freight trains are currently hauled by Class 92 locomotives built specifically for use through the ...
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NewsSNCF launches Global Mobility Index
INNOTRANS: ‘Our role as a business has changed dramatically', said SNCF President Guillaume Pepy, speaking at InnoTrans 2012 on September 18. Noting that the state-owned railway was becoming ‘a major player for global mobility services’, he revealed that direct train operations now accounted for just 50% of SNCF’s turnover, alongside ...
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News20-year vision for transport
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government released a draft Long Term Transport Master Plan on September 4, setting out over 200 actions and recommendations which could deliver ‘world-class’ public transport and freight networks over a period of 20 years. Existing and proposed rail schemes that feature in plan include the ...
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NewsZRL takes charge as Zambian concession revoked
ZAMBIA: State-owned holding company Zambia Railways Ltd resumed control of the national rail network on September 11, following the government’s decision to revoke the operating concession awarded to Railway Systems of Zambia Ltd in 2003. Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda had announced on September 10 that the government had decided on ...
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NewsDirective 91/440 does not require institutional separation
EUROPE: The holding company model adopted for the incumbent national railways in Austria and Germany is permitted under European directives, according to a non-binding opinion delivered by European Court of Justice Advocate Generate Niilo Jääskinen on September 6. The European Commission is taking action against five member states for alleged ...
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NewsTransport Reform Network launches investment debate
AUSTRALIA: Representatives of more than 30 organisations attended the launch of the Transport Reform Network on August 29. TRN is a cross-industry coalition which aims 'to address Australia's looming transport crisis by seeking changes in the scoping, funding and pricing of transport infrastructure'. Australasian Railway Association CEO Bryan Nye warned ...
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NewsGuatemala passenger revival plan
GUATEMALA: Railway authority FEGUA has signed an agreement for Spanish metre-gauge operator FEVE to undertake studies for passenger services including a new route from Guatemala City to La Aurora international airport and Antigua. FEVE will also provide assistance for projects to introduce 'urban and suburban' services on the ...
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NewsADB provides US$150m to boost Bangladesh Railways
BANGLADESH: The Asian Development Bank is to provide a further US$150m for projects to increase capacity and improve safety on the Bangladesh Railway network, following the signature of a loan agreement in Dhaka on August 26. This should enable BR to complete double-tracking of the 64 km Tongi – Bhairab ...
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NewsNational Express targets German rail sector
GERMANY: UK bus and rail operator National Express announced on August 17 that it was seeking to enter the regional rail market in Germany, with the formation of a local subsidiary. Based in Düsseldorf, National Express Rail GmbH has reportedly already prequalified for contracts to operate four regional lines. ‘We ...
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NewsBrazil to develop 10 000 km of new railway
BRAZIL: The federal government launched a logistics investment plan on August 15 that will see R$91bn spent on 12 new railway projects totalling 10 000 km over the next 30 years. As well as reviving rail freight, the plan aims to 'break the monopoly' on the provision of rail ...
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NewsFirstGroup awarded Inter-City West Coast franchise
UK: First West Coast Ltd has been selected to operate inter-city services on the West Coast Main Line between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland for up to 15 years, Transport Minister Theresa Villiers announced on August 15. Running for 13 years and 4 months from December 9 2012, with an ...
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NewsEntity in Charge of Maintenance certified
GERMANY: Wagon leasing firm VTG has become the first company to receive Entity in Charge of Maintenance certification from German rail authority EBA. Voluntary certification was obtained as a pilot project enabling EBA to gain experience of the process ahead of European rules coming into force on June 1 ...
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NewsRail reform tackles Spanish debt crisis
SPAIN: The government is embarking on a programme of reform in order to ensure the future sustainability of the railway system, improve service quality and make the best use of the network, according to Development Minister Ana Pastor. She was speaking on July 24 during a parliamentary debate on ...
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NewsElectrification programme central to UK government's £9·4bn rail strategy
UK: A rolling programme of electrification is at the centre of the High Level Output Specification which sets out the government's strategic plans for rail investment in 2014-19. The HLOS published on July 16 covers projects planned for Control Period 5, which runs from April 1 2014 to March 31 ...
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NewsCalifornia vote approves high speed funding
USA: Following a highly-charged debate, California’s state legislature voted on July 6 to allocate the funding needed to start construction of the state’s planned high speed line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which is currently costed at $68bn. The senate voted 21-16 to approve a bill authorising the state ...
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NewsRDC wins case in Guatemala railway dispute
GUATEMALA: Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp announced on July 5 that it had won its five-year arbitration case against the Republic of Guatemala over the disputed concession to revive and operate the country’s national rail network. On June 29 a tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes unanimously ...
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NewsHKX prepares to take on DB
GERMANY: Open access operator Hamburg-Köln Express expects to launch revenue services between the two cities on July 23, having opened its ticket sales channels on July 4. HKX will initially operate one train per day from Monday to Wednesday in competition with Deutsche Bahn, serving six intermediate ...
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NewsWagon fleet privatisation proposed
KAZAKHSTAN: The government is developing plans for the Kaztemirtrans freight business of national railway KTZ to transfer ownership of its wagon fleet to the private sector. Because of a shortage of wagons Kaztemirtrans currently uses foreign-registered vehicles for 20% of its traffic, and as neighbouring countries reform their wagon ownership ...
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NewsSlaskie abandons national operator PR in favour of local company
POLAND: Slaskie voivodship's in-house passenger operator Koleje Slaskie has been directly awarded a three-year contract to replace Poland-wide Przewozy Regionalne as the provider of all regional passenger services in the voivodship when PR's current five-year agreement ends in January 2013. PR operates nationally and is owned by the voivodship governments. ...