All Policy articles – Page 56
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Metro Report InternationalComparing suburban rail best practice
INTERNATIONAL: Catalunya regional operator FGC hosted the annual meeting of the International Suburban Rail Benchmarking Group on November 9-11. The event in Barcelona brought together 15 rail operators as part of an international project which aims to identify synergies and drive continuous improvement by providing a confidential environment where experts ...
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NewsIndependent transport regulator to be established
CZECH REPUBLIC: The government has approved an act paving the way for the creation of an independent transport infrastructure access regulator Úřad pro přístup k dopravní infrastruktuře with effect from April 1 2017. ÚPDI is to have 20 to 30 staff, and will be led by a chairman appointed by ...
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NewsEuropean Commission investigates claims of anti-competitive rail fares
CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Commission has begun an investigation into whether national operator ČD has breached EU competition rules by charging fares below its costs with the aim of excluding competitors from the passenger market. The Commission said ČD had ‘significantly decreased’ fares on the Praha – ...
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NewsUS rail industry responds to Trump victory
USA: Responding to the results of the presidential and congressional elections held on November 8, Association of American Railroads President & CEO Edward R Hamberger said the rail freight sector was ‘eager to work with a new administration and Congress, helping advance policies that will spur economic growth, support quality ...
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NewsWelsh Government sets out rolling stock aspirations
UK: The Welsh Government’s key priorities for the new rolling stock which is to be procured under the Wales & Borders Operator & Development Partner contract have been set out by Cabinet Secretary for Economy & Infrastructure Ken Skates. The Welsh Government says that passengers’ perception of the quality of ...
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NewsWest Coast Partnership franchise to include HS2 launch
UK: ‘I want to be very clear that this is a new type of franchise requiring a new kind of approach to bidding’, said Transport Minister Paul Maynard said on November 4, confirming that the franchise which is to replace the current InterCity West Coast franchise from April 2019 would ...
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NewsNSB assets transferred to standalone businesses
NORWAY: National operator NSB’s rolling stock fleet and ticketing activities and the associated staff were transferred to two standalone subsidiary companies with effect from October 15. The rolling stock is now owned by Materiellselskapet AS and the sales and ticketing activities by Entur AS (formerly known as Salg og Billettering ...
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NewsNational Express pulls out of Nürnberg S-Bahn bidding
GERMANY: National Express Group announced on October 25 that it had withdrawn its winning bids for two parallel 12-year contracts to operate Nürnberg S-Bahn services from December 2018. The UK-based transport group said it had informed Bayern railway agency BEG that ‘it is no longer in the interest of ...
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NewsRail Delivery Group name replaces ATOC
UK: The Association of Train Operating Companies and the Rail Delivery Group have adopted the single name Rail Delivery Group with effect from October 24, with the aim of providing greater clarity about the services offered. Set up as a statutory body after privatisation in 1993, ATOC brings together ...
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NewsUkraine to create stand-alone passenger business
UKRAINE: Next year Ukrainian Railways is to begin a five-step process to form a separate passenger business. This would more clearly separate the costs of its loss-making passenger activities from the profitable freight operations, providing greater clarity in the allocation of subsidy. UZ envisages that the assets and liabilities of ...
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NewsDB Cargo plans to cut 893 jobs in face of ‘unprecedented’ market changes
UK: Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Cargo UK has announced changes to its business model and proposals to eliminate 893 roles in response to what it says are ‘rapid and unprecedented changes’ in the freight market. The measures announced on October 17 include revising of the number and locations of operational ...
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NewsWales & Borders bidders asked to propose Metro options
UK: The four bidders shortlisted for the contract to be the 'Operator & Development Partner' holding the next Wales & Borders franchise were announced by the Welsh Government's Economy & Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates on October 13. They are: Abellio Rail Cymru; Arriva Rail Wales/Rheilffyrdd Arriva Cymru Ltd; KeolisAmey; ...
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NewsRail Baltica procurement agreement signed
EUROPE: Nine government and railway organisations from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have signed an agreement setting out the procurement model for Rail Baltica II, the planned 1 435 mm gauge line which would run 728 km to Riga and Tallinn from the current standard gauge railhead at Kaunas. Baiba Rubesa, ...
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NewsNot just the budget
The Indian government’s plan to abolish the annual railway budget is a welcome move which could facilitate more wide-ranging reforms, suggests Raghu Dayal.
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NewsDigital convergence is coming
ERTMS: ‘Train control is not enough’, suggested UIC Director-General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux in his opening remarks to the 12th ERTMS World Conference, hosted in Brussels last month by Infrabel. He argued that future signalling systems needed to move beyond simply block and speed control, and be integrated ‘more intensively’ with traffic ...
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NewsEuropean Commission adopts new rules to widen access to rail infrastructure
EUROPE: New rules designed to create fairer conditions for access to rail infrastructure were adopted by the European Commission on April 7, and will come into force on December 1. The Commission is concerned that EU rail markets are currently ‘characterised’ by dominant operators which may have close ties with ...
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NewsNew operator for Dakar – Bamako railway
AFRICA: The governments of Senegal and Mali have established Dakar Bamako Ferroviaire to manage the revival of the 1 286 km railway between the port of Dakar and Bamako. The new company replaces concessionaire TransRail, a 51% subsidiary of Advens which had operated the metre-gauge line under a concession awarded ...
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NewsGreece extends rail privatisation deadlines
GREECE: The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund has extended the timetable for the submission of bids for 100% stakes in national train operator Trainose and rolling stock maintenance business EESSTY, also known as Rosco. HRADF said three investors interested in Trainose had requested an extension to the March 21 deadline ...
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NewsTrain delay refund process to be improved
UK: The Office of Rail & Road made recommendations for improving the process for claiming refunds for train delays on March 18. ORR was responding to a ‘super-complaint’ made by consumer organisation Which? in December, which claimed the current process is neither clear nor straightforward. Following the super-complaint ORR undertook ...
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NewsDB needs ‘quality, quality and more quality’ to return to economic success
GERMANY: ‘A self-critical look shows us that we did not achieve the targets we set’, said Deutsche Bahn CEO Rüdiger Grube when presenting the group’s 2015 annual results on March 16. Grube said three events had a major impact on the national railway last year: ‘unusually fierce’ storms; the longest ...