All Policy articles – Page 39
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NewsLittle change in Indian railway results
INDIA: With parliamentary elections due to be held in around three months, the national budget presented on February 1 offered little prospect of significant steps being taken to address the structural deficiencies afflicting the national railway, reports Raghu Dayal. Presented by Railways Minister Piyush Goyal in the absence of ...
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NewsProject company to support Finnish rail reforms
FINLAND: New line development, transparent access to infrastructure services and the provision of rolling stock for on-rail competition are to be facilitated by a state-owned special purpose company to be formed under plans unveiled by Minister of Transport & Communications Anne Berner on February 1. The Cabinet Committee on Economic ...
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NewsCTA investigates Vancouver rail freight
CANADA: On January 29 the Canadian Transportation Agency held its first public hearing for an investigation into ‘possible freight rail service issues’ in the Vancouver area. The investigation is looking into whether there is evidence of discriminatory treatment of certain commodities, how freight rail permits and/or embargoes to manage traffic ...
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NewsRajasthan test track plan endorsed
INDIA: The national government has approved plans to develop a 40 km dedicated test track in Rajasthan for railway research and testing. This is expected to reduce the requirement for new and experimental trains to be tested on the increasingly busy national network. IR’s Research, Design & Standards Organisation had ...
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Rail Business UKRail at heart of £70bn northern England investment plan
UK: A transport investment programme worth up to £70bn over the next three decades was unveiled by Transport for the North on January 31. Rail spending features prominently in the multi-modal plan, which is intended to support the creation of around 850 000 jobs and deliver economic benefits worth around ...
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News€2bn TEN-T rail action plan for Eastern Partnership countries
INTERNATIONAL: The European Commission and the World Bank have co-authored an Indicative trans-European Transport Network Investment Action Plan which identifies priority projects to boost connectivity and economic growth in the Eastern Partnership countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The projects include 4 800 km of new or ...
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NewsUITP publishes updated passenger charter
EUROPE: The International Association of Public Transport has published a new version of its Passenger Charter, which has been updated from the 2006 version in partnership with the European Passengers Federation to take account of regulatory changes and technical developments including the growth of e-ticketing and real-time information. The charter ...
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News‘No certainty' that European Commission will approve updated Siemens Alstom proposal
SIEMENS ALSTOM: Siemens Mobility and Alstom have submitted a revised proposal to address the European Commission’s competition concerns regarding their proposed merger. This comes amid widespread reports that the Commission may block the proposed merger when it makes its final decision on February 18. On January 28 Alstom said the ...
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NewsAcciona cleared to take stake in Spanish open access company ILSA
SPAIN: Competition authority CNMC has granted approval for infrastructure construction group Acciona to acquire a controlling stake in open access passenger service promoter Intermodalidad de Levante, which was founded by Valencia-based regional airline Air Nostrum. ISLA is developing plans to launch a passenger service between Madrid in Spain and Montpellier ...
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NewsRail Baltica procurement to ramp up this year
EUROPE: Political support for Rail Baltica and public awareness have increased significantly in the past year as government and EU agreements have been reached, Acting CEO Ignas Deaks said at tri-national project promoter RB Rail’s annual press conference in Tallinn on January 23. Support includes European Commission backing for the ...
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NewsExpanding the railway legal framework in southeast Asia
ASIA: The Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail and the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to co-operate to develop rail transport in Asia, particularly southeast Asia where most states are not signatories to the COTIF uniform ...
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NewsPortuguese incumbent awarded public service contract
PORTUGAL: The government has formally awarded national passenger operator CP a public service contract running for 10 years from the start of this year, with an option to extend it by five more. This sets out how the government will compensate the operator for loss-making services to be provided under ...
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NewsMore trains and better security in SNCF-PACA agreement
FRANCE: SNCF President Guillaume Pepy and the President of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Renaud Muselier, signed a co-operation agreement on January 17 covering the development of regional passenger services in 2019-23. The improvement plan covers the remaining period within SNCF’s current agreement to operate local passenger trains. The contract to operate TER ...
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NewsSBB Cargo stands alone
SWITZERLAND: The ‘gradual separation’ of freight activities from the national railway operator has taken a further step, with SBB Cargo AG being managed as an independent company within the SBB Group since the start of the year. This is intended to pave the way for the introduction of third-party participation ...
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NewsDB sets out five-point improvement plan
GERMANY: Passengers travelling with Deutsche Bahn can expect to see better punctuality and performance later this year thanks to a package of ‘step-by-step’ improvements announced on January 17. Presented to Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and other government representatives by CEO Dr Richard Lutz on January 17, and board members Ronald ...
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Rail Business UKEurotunnel calls for clarity on post-Brexit border
EUROPE: Channel Tunnel concessionaire Eurotunnel has called on political leaders to clarify ‘as soon as possible’ the nature of the border relationship and controls that will exist following the UK’s expected departure from the EU, which is currently set to occur on March 29. Eurotunnel’s call came immediately after a ...
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NewsCo-operation to promote Eurasian rail freight
INTERNATIONAL: The International Union of Railways and freight association FERRMED signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at promoting a more efficient and sustainable Eurasian logistics chain during the 23rd UIC general assembly which was held in Paris last month. The two organisations aim to exchange knowledge and best practice to ...
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NewsDangerous goods regulations updated
INTERNATIONAL: The latest version of the Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail came into force on January 1. RID 2019 replaces the 2017 edition, which may continue to be used during a transitional period running to June 30. RID applies to the international carriage of dangerous ...
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NewsFrance to tender operation of two inter-city routes
FRANCE: The government on January 9 formally launched the process of opening the French domestic main line passenger railway to competition when it announced the publication of a Prior Information Notice covering two routes. Issued by the Ministry of Environmental Transformation & Sustainability and to be published this week ...
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NewsCourt overturns Fehmarn Belt tunnel financing approval
EUROPE: The Court of Justice of the European Union has overturned the European Commission’s approval for the financing model for the Fehmarn Belt fixed link project, finding that procedural errors were made. The Commission must now provide a new approval. Project promoter Femarn A/S told Railway Gazette it had secured ...