All Policy articles – Page 52
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NewsWork starts on ‘metropolitan’ high speed link in Beijing
CHINA: Construction work started on May 21 on a Passenger-Dedicated Line linking Beijing with Bazhou, 80 km to the south. The route is one of several ‘metropolitan’ high speed railways planned around the conurbations of Beijing and Tianjin. With a view to future extensions to the south which would relieve ...
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NewsRail industry responds to proposed Canadian legislation
CANADA: The government has introduced legislation the House of Commons which according to Minister of Transport Marc Garneau is intended to ‘promote a transparent, fair, efficient and safer national freight rail system that will facilitate trade and meet the needs of users and all Canadians.’ The Transportation Modernization Act Bill ...
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NewsBosnia - Croatia railway re-opening initiative
EUROPE: Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia have agreed to seek European Union funding to rehabilitate and reopen the 177·9 km Una line between Novi Grad (Bosanski Novi) and Knin. This once provided the shortest rail route between Zagreb and the Adriatic port of Split, but it has been out of use since ...
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NewsLocomore shows the need to remove barriers to market entry, says ALLRAIL
GERMANY: Locomore filing for insolvency highlights the crippling cost challenges and entry barriers' in the rail sector which are 'limiting the growth of eco-friendly transport', according to the Alliance of Rail New Entrants. ALLRAIL said Locomore was the fourth start-up in recent years to 'fall flat' when trying to ...
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NewsUkrainian Railways plans five-year investment programme
UKRAINE: National railway UZ has presented its five-year development strategy for 2017-21. This includes investment of 130bn to 150bn hryvna, and the formation of five business sectors: freight transport and logistics, passenger transport, infrastructure, traction services, manufacturing & services. In the freight sector, UZ plans to invest in the creation ...
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NewsOil funds to support a ‘new era' of rail investment
IRAN: A five-year funding stream worth US$7·5bn has been agreed with the government, national railway RAI's Vice-President for Planning & Transport Economy Noorollah Beyranvand told Railway Gazette at the Transport Logistic trade fair in München on May 9. The funding from the petroleum ministry is intended to support the country's ...
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NewsPassenger night trains in Europe: the end of the line? report published
EUROPE: The European Parliament's Committee on Transport & Tourism has published a research report into the future of night train services which was produced by consultancy Steer Davies Gleave with support from Politecnico di Milano. Passenger night trains in Europe: the end of the line? looks in detail at the ...
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NewsRail Alliance drives Midlands Engine
UK: Supply industry cluster Rail Alliance is to host networking events at the forthcoming Railtex 2017 trade fair in Birmingham on behalf of the Midlands Engine initiative. Backed by businesses, local authorities and 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships, Midlands Engine is looking to make the East and West Midlands region ‘an ...
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NewsCaltrain ‘cautiously optimistic’ on federal support for rail investment
USA: San Francisco to San Jose commuter rail operator Caltrain said on May 3 that it expected the Trump administration’s 2017 budget would include a $100m investment in the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project. Caltrain had agreed contracts in July last year with Balfour Beatty and Stadler for electrification work and ...
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NewsSeven railways sign China – Europe container agreement
INTERNATIONAL: A joint working group is to be established to facilitate improvements to container train services between China and Europe. This follows the signing in late April of a multilateral agreement by Belarusian Railway, China Railway Corp, Deutsche Bahn, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Poland’s PKP, Russian Railways and Ulaanbaatar ...
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Rail Business UKEast West Rail leads culture change
UK: ‘We can build it quicker and cheaper, but what is “it”?’, East West Rail Chairman Rob Brighouse asked on April 25, as he addressed the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group. Clarity on what ‘it’ is should drive the business model chosen to implement the project that would eventually create an ...
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NewsMontecargo privatisation cancelled
MONTENEGRO: The Council for Privatisation & Capital Projects has cancelled plans to sell stakes in national rail freight operator Montecargo and port operator Luka Bar to Poland’s OT Logistics Group. The tender commission believed that while sole bidder OT Logistics was a credible investor and the process ...
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NewsDouble track to Chittagong
BANGLADESH: The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese contractors to regauge and double-track the Dhaka – Chittagong main line via Akhaura and Comilla.According to Railways Minister M Mazibul Hoque, the work is to be undertaken by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, which last year was awarded the ...
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NewsPerformance contracts signed despite regulator's concerns
FRANCE: Three 10-year performance contracts between the government and the SNCF group were formally signed on April 20 by Finance Minister Michel Sapin, Transport Minister Alain Vidalies, Frédéric Saint-George as head of the SNCF supervisory board, Patrick Jeantet as President of infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau and Florence Parly, Director-General of ...
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NewsOpen access operators launch Alliance of Rail New Entrants
EUROPE: The Alliance for Rail New Entrants was launched on April 20 to bring together non-incumbent passenger and freight operators who are ‘committed to fair competition and open markets as the only way to shift freight and passengers from road to rail by offering attractive and additional choices’. ALLRAIL has ...
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NewsRENFE plans for profitable freight
SPAIN: The freight business of national operator RENFE is aiming to move into profit within three years under its 2017-19 management plan. This is in order to ensure a sustainable future after several years of losses which have resulted in a major deficit. Development of international traffic will be a ...
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NewsSBB wants better co-operation with road transport
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways and national road transport association Astag have joined forces to demand a more effective freight transport policy at national level and better co-operation between road and rail. At a press conference on April 7 in Basel at which both organisations pledged support for the planned Gateway ...
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NewsRegions sound out SNCF competitors
FRANCE: The body which represents the regions of France says that there is a ‘strong appetite’ amongst potential bidders for contracts to operate TER passenger services currently provided by SNCF, which are expected to be opened up to competition around 2024. In order to enable its members to prepare for ...
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NewsSJ rolls out national automated alcohol testing
SWEDEN: SJ has begun the national roll-out of Hök Instrument's Sesame Connect system for the automated daily alcohol testing of safety-critical employees. ‘With just 33 unmanned units covering the entire country, all SJ’s train drivers confirm they are sober every time they come to work’, said Mark Hawthorne, Vice-President Sales ...
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NewsDevelopment authority to regulate Indian Railways
INDIA: Creation of the Rail Development Authority of India to act as an independent railway regulator was announced by the government on April 5. The move is part of an ongoing reform of the transport sector, following the scrapping of the separate railway budget. RDA is to be established under ...