Railway policy news – Page 83
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NewsTrackSAFE foundation aims to cut fatalities
AUSTRALIA: The TrackSAFE foundation was formally launched at an event in Sydney on March 28. The not-for-profit organisation is backed by 11 rail companies and has four key aims: Improving level crossing safety Reducing trespass on rail property; Reducing suicides and attempted suicides; Providing support for employees who witness ...
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NewsOntario to sell Northland rail businesses
CANADA: The government of Ontario announced on March 23 that it is to 'wind down' the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, an agency established in 1902 which operates a 1 100 km rail network in the north of the province. A transition board has been appointed to divest ONTC's 'commercially valuable' ...
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NewsDSB seeks to exit Göteborg contract
SWEDEN: Danish state passenger operator DSB is seeking early termination of its contract to operate commuter and regional services around Göteborg on behalf of transport authority Västtrafik. Jacob Kjær, Acting Chief Executive of DSB and Chairman of its Swedish subsidiary DSB Väst, said that the services were reliable and punctual, ...
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NewsFinding the next generation
WEBINAR: 'For rail, the time is now. It is time to seize the moment', emphasised Bentley Systems Senior Director Steve Jolley, during Railway Gazette’s latest webinar, broadcast live from the London Stock Exchange on March 21. Now available to watch on demand, the webinar discussed the growing demographic crisis in ...
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NewsSupply associations demand market reciprocity
EUROPE: Responding to reports that Hitachi is planning to bid for a contract to supply 60 new EMUs for DB Regio’s Hamburg S-Bahn network, German railway suppliers’ association VDB and its French counterpart FIF issued a strongly-worded ‘declaration’ on March 15 demanding ‘a level playing field for international competition in ...
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NewsTrivedi stands firm on fare increases
INDIA: Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi has rejected calls for his resignation following his decision to increase passenger fares for the first time in a decade. Presenting the Indian Railways budget for 2012-13 in Parliament on March 14, he announced graduated increases in all fare rates ranging from Rs0·02 per km ...
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NewsIrish government looks at rail restructuring as derogation ends
IRELAND: The government announced on March 13 that it would not be seeking an extension of its current derogation from EU legislation opening access to the rail market. National railway Iarnród Éireann's only international link is with the UK's Northern Ireland Railways, which has a similar derogation. The ...
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NewsFranchising negotiations in Slovakia
SLOVAKIA:The Ministry of Transport and six potential operators have begun preliminary negotiations for the tendering of regional passenger services. Questions still to be settled include train procurement. In 2010 the ministry announced plans for up to 35% of passenger services to be tendered by 2020, starting with regional services. ...
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NewsGovernment command paper responds to McNulty study
UK: On March 8 Transport Secretary Justine Greening announced proposals to cut £3·5bn from the annual cost of the national rail network to the public purse by 2019. The command paper 'Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First' is the government's official response to Sir Roy McNulty's Rail Value for ...
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NewsExpert Group sets out Indian Railways investment priorities
INDIA: Reform of Indian Railways along business lines and investment of Rs8·2tr in expansion and modernisation should be key priorities for India's 12th five-year plan in 2012-17, according to a report presented to the government and IR on February 28. The report was drawn up by an Expert Group established ...
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NewsERA should be 'the single railway authority in Europe'
EUROPE: The European Railway Agency should be transformed into a single safety certification and vehicle authorisation body for Europe, according to a joint vision for the future presented by the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies (CER) and supply industry association UNIFE on February 28. The proposal was made ...
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NewsPakistan pins hopes on private sector
PAKISTAN: Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani inaugurated the first privately-managed Business Express service between Lahore and Karachi on February 3. The train is operated under an agreement between Pakistan Railways and Four Brothers International, which sells the premium-priced tickets aimed at business travellers and provides the onboard services including bedding, catering ...
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NewsRail Vision 2030 recommends investment in Irish inter-city routes
IRELAND: The 2030 Rail Network Strategy Review of the medium-term needs and long term vision for investment in the national rail network was published on February 22. It recommends that improvements to speed and capacity on inter-city lines should be prioritised, with electrification of the two main routes considered ...
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NewsPresident outlines Brazilian rail spending plans
BRAZIL: Spending of R$46bn on 4600 km of railway by 2014 is envisaged by the federal government under the PAC 2 programme to accelerate economic growth, according to President Dilma Rousseff. Asked why the government was not investing in rail, Rousseff responded in her weekly newspaper column on January 3 ...
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NewsAwards encourage European railway integration
EUROPE: ‘We must create a European railway area, where railway operators are able to provide their services across borders’, insisted European Commission Vice-President for Transport Siim Kallas, speaking at the 2012 European Railway Awards in Brussels on February 8. Kallas is concerned that ‘today, many of Europe's railways are not ...
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NewsNew South Wales government to buy out Waratah PPP
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales state government has reached agreement with the shareholders in Reliance Rail, its 'financial guarantors and other parties' to restructure the finances of the troubled PPP concession to supply 626 Waratah double-deck EMU cars for the Sydney suburban network. State Treasurer Mike Baird announced on February ...
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NewsAnother €1bn to fund DB enhancement programme
GERMANY: Federal Transport Minister Minister Dr Peter Ramsauer confirmed on January 31 that another €1bn of federal funding would be made available for infrastructure improvements across the DB network by 2015, following the completion of a three-year programme funded by a €1·4bn ‘stimulus package’ and €100m from DB’s own resources. ...
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NewsNetwork Rail plans alliances with train operators
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail formally announced plans to form 'alliances' between its operational regions and franchised passenger train operating companies on January 23, saying this would streamline decision-making and deliver 'a more passenger-focused operation at lower cost'. Framework agreements have been reached with Abellio Greater Anglia, which takes over ...
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NewsContractor takes over responsibility for NSW Country Regional Network
AUSTRALIA: Responsibility for the management, maintenance and upgrading of the New South Wales government's regional rail network transferred from the Country Rail Infrastructure Authority to contractor John Holland with effect from January 15. More than 300 employees have transferred to John Holland, which now has a directly employed workforce 'in ...
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NewsWork to begin on Chad rail network
CHAD: Construction of what may be the country’s first railway is set to begin in February, following the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp on December 24. The US$5·6bn four-year plan covers a 1 364 ...