All Policy articles – Page 54
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NewsHelsinki – Tallinn tunnel feasibility studies commissioned
EUROPE: Two consortia have been appointed to study the feasibility of the FinEst Link proposal to build a 92 km under-sea railway tunnel linking Finland and Estonia. A consortium of Ramboll Finland, Sito, Strafica, Urban Research and Pöyry Finland will estimate passenger and freight volumes and undertake a cost-benefit study. ...
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NewsGreat Britain records 10 years without train accident fatalities
UK: February 23 marked 10 years since the last passenger or staff fatality in a train accident on Great Britain’s national rail network. While there have been fatalities from other causes including trespass and suicide and at level crossings, the last occasion when a passenger died in a derailment ...
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NewsSNCF agrees to order TGVs under Belfort rescue package
FRANCE: Having worked with the government to find ‘a balanced solution’ to maintaining employment at Alstom’s Belfort plant while modernising the TGV fleet ‘to deliver the greatest benefit for passengers’, SNCF announced on February 16 that it would be ordering 15 additional TGV Duplex trainsets for the Paris – Bordeaux ...
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NewsLong-distance concession talks break down
SWITZERLAND: Negotiations for a national jointly operated long-distance passenger traffic concession with services run by SBB, BLS and SOB collapsed on February 16. Discussions had been underway since autumn last year for the ‘multi-railway’ proposal. SBB issued a statement regretting the failure of the talks and noted that BLS had ...
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NewsIndustry backs faster ERTMS deployment
EUROPE: The Chief Executives of the eight signalling companies that are members of the UNISIG association renewed their commitment to the development and roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System at a meeting in Brussels on February 7 attended by DG Move Director-General Henrik Hololei, ERTMS Co-ordinator Karel Vinck ...
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NewsTechnology strategy for the 'age of the digital train'
UK: A strategy identifying 12 'key capabilities' that the rail sector needs to develop in order to increase capacity and improve customer service in the 'age of the digital train' was published by a group of industry bodies led by standards organisation RSSB on February 7. Endorsed by the Rail ...
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NewsReforms aim to ‘blow the dust off’ UK rail ticketing system
UK: A complete overhaul of the structure of Great Britain’s fares system is being planned by the Rail Delivery Group, with the aim of reflecting changes in the way passengers now travel and enabling bidders for future franchises to put forward more innovative ideas for ticketing. ...
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NewsTrain operators to test 'radical fare changes'
UK: 'Radical changes' to fares which are intended to 'guarantee customers simpler fares and the best possible deal every time they travel' are to be tested following an agreement between train operators and the government, the Rail Delivery Group confirmed on February 1. There will be three elements to ...
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NewsRailway flotations envisaged in Indian budget
INDIA: Plans to float off several Indian Railway subsidiaries including construction arm IRCON, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp and Indian Railway Finance Corp were announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the national budget on February 1. He said shares in the IR Public Sector Enterprises would ‘soon’ be ...
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NewsDeutsche Bahn Chairman Rüdiger Grube quits
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn’s Supervisory Board unanimously approved Dr Rüdiger Grube’s resignation as Chief Executive and Chairman of the Management Board on January 30, and the termination of his contract with immediate effect. Grube’s current contract was due to expire this year, and according to business newspaper Handelsblatt the Supervisory Board ...
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NewsGrizzly bear study aims to reduce collisions with trains
CANADA: A five-year study to identify and address the underlying causes of collisions between grizzly bears and trains has been completed by Canadian Pacific, Parks Canada and the universities of Alberta and Calgary. There have been 10 confirmed rail-caused grizzly bear mortalities in the Banff and Yoho national parks over ...
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NewsChannel Tunnel security centre opened
EUROPE: Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel inaugurated a security control centre at its French terminal in Coquelles on January 18. The decision to make the ‘major investment’ in the centre was taken following a meeting in summer 2015 between the UK’s then Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard ...
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NewsTrenitalia joins FirstGroup to bid for UK franchises
UK: Two weeks after the Italian state railway group entered the UK rail market by agreeing to acquire the Essex Thameside franchise from National Express, FS Italiane subsidiary Trenitalia UK announced on January 24 that it was joining FirstGroup to bid for the East Midlands franchise and the forthcoming West ...
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NewsTrenitalia awarded 10-year inter-city contract
ITALY: A 10-year ‘universal service contract’ for Trenitalia to operate socially-desirable day and night inter-city services was signed on January 19. Awarded jointly by the Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport and the Ministry of Economy & Finance, the contract is backdated to January 1 and runs to December 31 2026. ...
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NewsFS signs deal to buy Greek national train operator
GREECE: The share purchase agreement for Italian state railway group Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane to buy 100% of Greek national passenger and freight train operator Trainose was signed on January 18. Privatisation agency Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund had named FS as preferred bidder on July 14 2016. Russian Railways ...
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NewsOne offer submitted for privatisation of Montecargo
MONTENEGRO: Polish port operator and freight forwarding company OT Logistics was the only company to submit a bid for a 51% stake in national freight operator Montecargo. Its binding offer was opened by the Tender Commission for Privatisation on January 16, and is subject to review to ensure compliance with ...
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NewsMore TET transfers agreed
FRANCE: On January 12 Transport Secretary Alain Vidalies met with Philippe Richert, President of the association of French regions, and SNCF Voyageurs Director General Florence Parly to review progress with the programme to transfer responsibility for the loss-making Trains d’Equilibre du Territoire network of conventional passenger services from central government ...
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NewsFinland adopts Erex energy metering
FINLAND: National infrastructure manager Liikennevirasto has brought into operation the Erex energy monitoring and billing system developed by the European Railway Energy Settlement System, the ERESS partnership announced on January 12. The agency becomes the seventh member of the not-for-profit organisation, alongside Banedanmark, Bane NOR, Infrabel, SBB, Trafikverket, and the ...
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NewsDangerous goods transport regulations updated
INTERNATIONAL: An updated version of the Regulations Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail came into force on January 1, replacing the 2015 rules which may however continue to be applied until June 30 2017. RID applies to international rail transport between 44 countries in Europe, Asia and ...
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NewsNS completes green energy transition
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is now operating all of its electric trains using wind-generated power, following a three-year transition in association with natural gas, electricity and heat supplier Eneco. According to a personal video message from CEO Roger van Boxtel, NS is the first railway in the world to ...