Railway policy news – Page 90
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NewsAlstom pursues Eurostar challenge
EUROPE: The European Commission confirmed on November 4 that it was reviewing Eurostar International’s decision to order e320 Velaro trainsets from Siemens as part of its planned £700m expansion programme. Described as ‘preliminary’, the four-week investigation has been triggered by a complaint from Alstom alleging that Eurostar’s tendering process ...
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NewsRENFE tightens belt
SPAIN:Presenting the national operator’s 2011 budget to parliament on October 7, RENFE President Teófilo Serrano said income was expected to be €2·18bn, with passenger operations providing 87·7% of this. Freight would provide 12·3% or €269m, up from €233m in 2009 and the forecast of €241m for 2010. RENFE expects to ...
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NewsVR plans locomotive fleet renewal
FINLAND: National rail operator VR announced a €700m renewal plan on October 2 which will see orders placed for around 200 diesel and electric locomotives to replace obsolete traction and expand the total fleet to handle forecast growth. Finland’s 1524 mm gauge and extreme winters will pose a challenge to ...
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NewsDB prepares for Channel Tunnel tests
EUROPE: As part of its bid to introduce ICE services between Germany and London by the end of 2013, Deutsche Bahn is preparing to undertake evacuation trials in the Channel Tunnel over the next few days. A pair of Class 406 ICE3 sets was dispatched from the Griesheim workshops ...
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NewsHammond backs high speed lines to Leeds and Manchester
UK: Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced the government's preferred option for a high speed rail network north of Birmingham in a speech to the Conservative Party conference on October 4. Development of proposals for a London - Birmingham line started under the previous Labour government, and the new government will ...
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NewsWiring proposals put forward
ISRAEL: At the end of August the National Infrastructure Committee released a railway electrification plan valued at US$1·32bn, excluding rolling stock, which would see most lines electrified within 10 years. Government approval is to be sought next year, following consultation with local authorities. The first stage covers ...
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NewsDevelopment projects get the go-ahead
BANGLADESH: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved 10 rail development projects worth a total of 19·9bn taka on September 9. The government is to provide 12·6bn taka, with the rest coming from international aid. Rolling stock procurement will include 10 broad gauge diesel-electric locomotives at a cost ...
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NewsKallas outlines 2050 vision
INNOTRANS: European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas outlined his ‘dream’ of a competitive pan-European rail network in his keynote address at the InnoTrans 2010 opening ceremony on Tuesday morning. Noting that ‘railways are essential to the competitiveness of the European economy’, he suggested that by 2050, the single European rail market ...
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NewsFive-year rail plan ratified
AZERBAIJAN: President Ilham Aliyev has ratified the state programme on the development of the railway system for 2010-14, setting out projects which will be undertaken using US$450m allocated by the World Bank and a €215m credit from the Czech Export Bank. Draft laws are being prepared for institutional reform in ...
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NewsProposals for revision of First Railway Package published
EUROPE: Formal proposals for amendment of the earliest European legislation on railway liberalisation were published on September 17, when the European Commission adopted the draft proposal for the recast of the First Railway Package directives. The aim of the recast is to reflect experience with the introduction and implementation ...
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NewsObama on infrastructure
USA:'We're going to lay and maintain 4000 miles of our railways - enough to stretch coast-to-coast', said President Barack Obama during a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee on September 6. However, there were few details of the proposed road, rail and airport infrastructure improvements, and the $50bn total cost ...
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NewsSpanish efficiency drive launched
SPAIN: A programme to update the 2005-20 PEIT strategic infrastructure plan was launched on September 14 as Development Minister José Blanco addressed a conference in Madrid. By the end of this year the ministry will complete an assessment of results so far, looking to publish a revised plan ...
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NewsMiners drop Queensland rail bid
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group consortium of 13 mining firms has dropped its A$4·85bn cash bid to buy QR National’s Central Queensland rail network, which is to be sold under the state government’s asset disposal programme. Consortium member BHP Billiton said it was 'disappointed that QCIRG has not ...
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NewsDraft passenger tendering environmental guidelines released
EUROPE: The EU-supported ECORailS project has published guidelines on the incorporation of energy efficiency and environmental criteria when tendering regional passenger rail transport contracts. The guidelines are intended to prevent substantial risks to the public finances from future energy prices, and to tackle issues around noise and emissions, while keeping ...
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NewsAmbitious strategy ready to start
JORDAN: Following the completion of a feasibility study by BNP Paribas, Minister of Transport Alaa Batayneh hopes to call tenders this year for development of three routes totalling 1080 km under a PPP concession. The government began land acquisition last year, and construction is expected to begin ...
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NewsEurostar restructuring completed
EUROPE: The long-planned restructuring of Eurostar, the cross-Channel high speed rail operator, was formally completed on September 1, the company has confirmed. The restructuring has seen the unincorporated tri-national partnership under which Eurostar was created replaced by Eurostar International, a conventional three-way joint venture with its own ...
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NewsDoT sets common standards for passenger coach design
USA: US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on August 31 that ‘uniform technical standards’ were to be introduced for the design of inter-city passenger coaches to ‘enhance the ability of US manufacturers to compete’ in the market. The Department of Transportation believes that adoption of a common design with fixed ...
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NewsFrance and Germany seek co-operation
EUROPE: Meeting in Berlin on August 31, Germany’s Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer and his French counterpart Dominique Bussereau agreed to establish a high-level railway group bringing together representatives from both countries. Building on existing agreements, the new group will aim to foster co-operation in order to remove bureaucratic obstacles, ...
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NewsRepublika Srpska rail investment plan
BOSNIA: Republika Srpska’s Minister of Transport Nedeljko Cubrilovi outlined plans to spend €500m over three years modernising the entity’s rail network when he signed orders for Polish wagons and workshop equipment on August 13. The contracts were placed using a €20m credit from the Polish government. EKK Wagon will supply ...
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NewsBudget crunch hits Czech rail projects
CZECH REPUBLIC: On August 9 Transport Minister Vít Bárta called an immediate halt to all railway upgrading projects being undertaken by infrastructure manager SZDC with funding from the State Transport Infrastructure Fund. The move is part of aggressive austerity measures announced by the new government which came to power ...