Railway policy news – Page 5
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NewsImported Chinese couplers damage US manufacturers, trade commission finds
USA: Duties are to be imposed on some imported Chinese wagon couplers, after the United States International Trade Commission determined that they were being subsidised by the Chinese government and sold in the USA at less than fair value. Coupler manufacturer McConway & Torley and the ...
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NewsMinister blocks Cape Town suburban rail devolution ‘for now’
SOUTH AFRICA: ‘For now we are not in the process of devolving railway services, that is why Prasa is busy building up railway services in the Western Cape’, national Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga told local media during a site visit to Cape Town in May. ...
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In depthComment: Member states hold key to a Single European Railway Area
The European Commission has bold plans to create a Single European Railway Area, but these ambitious aims remain firmly dependent on cooperation from member states across the Eurozone, suggests our Executive Editor Nick Kingsley.
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NewsItalian ERTMS support scheme approved
ITALY: A €300m scheme to provide direct government grants for the acquisition and installation of ETCS onboard equipment has been approved by the European Commission under EU state aid rules. The programme running to the end of 2026 aims to encourage passenger and freight modal shift ...
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NewsTax exemptions help fund Brazilian rail projects
BRAZIL: The Federal Ministry of Transport has announced that a number of privately-funded rail projects will qualify for tax exemptions under the REIDI programme intended to encourage infrastructure investment. Details of the qualifying projects were published in the Official Gazette towards the end of April. Three ...
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NewsWest Africa rail action plan agreed
AFRICA: Transport ministers from Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo have agreed an action plan for the development of an international rail network. The proposed network connecting the cities of Abidjan, Ouagadougou, Niamey, Cotonou and Lomé would have a total length of 3 034 ...
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NewsMoldova gets access to Connecting Europe Facility transport funding
MOLDOVA: The government has signed an agreement with the European Commission enabling Moldovan promoters to apply for Connecting Europe Facility funding to support projects of common interest in the transport, energy and digital sectors. Moldovan authorities and companies will be able to apply for co-funding under ...
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NewsBroad gauge railways seek closer European integration
EUROPE: Ukrainian national railway Ukrzaliznytsia has signed a memorandum of intent to co-operate with the FREE Rail programme, which aims to develop an operating model that is based on EU rail standards and best practice while being aligned with the specific needs of 1 520 mm ...
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NewsBulgarian ETCS support scheme approved
BULGARIA: The European Commission has approved under EU state aid rules a €32m Bulgarian scheme to encourage freight and passenger modal shift from road to rail. To be funded through the Recovery & Resilience Facility, the scheme aims to remove technical barriers to rail interoperability and ...
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News‘We need more capacity’ urges DB’s Nikutta as she takes on Rail Freight Forward leadership
EUROPE: DB Board Member for Freight and DB Cargo CEO Sigrid Nikutta has succeeded Rail Cargo Group Chief Executive Clemens Först as Chair of the Rail Freight Forward alliance.
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NewsGerman government urged to revise pessimistic rail freight assumptions
GERMANY: The leaders of six private rail freight operators have published an open letter to federal Transport Minister Dr Volker Wissing urging the government to revise pessimistic forecasts for the sector’s future growth.
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In depthUK: East Coast collaboration is delivering
Almost uniquely among UK train operators, LNER is seeing ridership on its inter-city services well above pre-pandemic levels, while a collaborative approach between operator and infrastructure manager is driving up performance. Tony Miles investigates.
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In depthUK: Quality crumbles as rail reform programme inches forward
While preparations continue for the establishment of Great British Railways as a ‘guiding mind’ for the national rail network, cost cutting across both operations and infrastructure is starting to impact on the quality of service and rail’s ability to contribute to meeting ambitious decarbonisation targets.
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NewsEuropean Commission investigates possible anticompetitive practices in online rail ticketing
SPAIN: The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether national incumbent RENFE may have abused its dominant position in the passenger rail market by refusing to supply all ticketing information and real-time data to rival retailing platforms. RENFE sells tickets offline and online ...
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NewsConverting Finland’s rail network to standard gauge is not financially viable, study finds
FINLAND: A study has concluded that converting the 1 524 mm broad gauge national railway network to the European standard of 1 435 mm would not be financially viable. Recognising that regauging would facilitate international passenger and freight traffic and could simplify rolling stock procurement, the ...
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NewsANTT prepares to relet Malha Oeste concession
BRAZIL: ANTT has launched the process to relet the Malha Oeste operating concession, which is currently held by Rumo Logística.
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NewsAmtrak backs New York – Scranton passenger revival
USA: Amtrak has unveiled proposals for the restoration of inter-city passenger trains between New York and Scranton.
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NewsRail improvements should be central to TEN-T revision, MEPs say
EUROPE: Major EU transport infrastructure projects should focus on sustainable transport, avoid delays, improve links with Ukraine and Moldova and make provision for military transport, according to the European Parliament’s Transport & Tourism Committee. On April 13, the TRAN Committee formally adopted its position on the ...
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In depthMontenegro: EU funding is key to rehabilitation
Montenegro’s small network has seen only intermittent investment in recent years, and the poor state of the strategically vital main line between Bar and Beograd is an ongoing concern. Putting the country on the TEN-T map is now a priority for policymakers, as Toma Bačić explains.
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NewsSouth Australia to take back Adelaide suburban operations
AUSTRALIA: Keolis Downer has reached agreement with the state government of South Australia to hand back the operation of the Adelaide suburban rail network progressively from January 2025.