All Policy articles – Page 57
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NewsQueensland to fund rail upgrading
AUSTRALIA: A$95m has been allocated for upgrading work and capacity improvement projects on Queensland’s North Coast Line in a A$500m State Infrastructure Fund announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on March 13. The additional capacity is needed to support growing freight traffic, including minerals and agricultural produce. The announcement was made ...
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NewsRail in the 2016 UK budget
UK: Funding allocations for a number of railway projects were set out in the budget presented to parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne on March 16. Following recommendations by the National Infrastructure Commission, Osborne said the government would back the High Speed 3 and Crossrail 2 schemes. It ...
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NewsNR privatisation ruled out as Shaw focuses on growth
UK: Identifying ‘a compelling vision for growth’, the report into Network Rail’s structure and financing prepared for the government by HS1 Chief Executive Nicola Shaw was published on March 16, in conjunction with the presentation of the national budget in Parliament. Citing feedback from extensive consultation over the past few ...
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NewsYellow front ends become optional
UK: A new Railway Group Standard covering audibility and visibility came into force on March 5, removing the requirement for trains on the national network to have yellow front ends. Industry safety body RSSB said headlamp technology had improved since the requirement for a yellow panel was introduced the 1950s, ...
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NewsLyon - Torino ‘a priority’, say France and Italy
EUROPE: Construction of the new railway between Lyon and Torino via a base tunnel under Mont Cenis is ‘a priority’ for France and Italy, the two governments stressed on March 8 as they held a summit in Venezia. During the summit, Italian Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Graziano Delrio and ...
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NewsČD wins legal battle over Railjet option
CZECH REPUBLIC: A KC25m fine which competion authority ÚOHS had imposed on national operator ČD over the procurement of Siemens Viaggio Comfort push-pull trainsets has been repealed, after the supreme administrative court ruled in favour of ČD on February 26, upholding the verdict of the Brno district court. In September ...
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NewsEighth year without train accident fatalities
UK: No passenger or workforce fatalities in train accidents have been reported in Great Britain for the eighth year in a row, according to figures for 2015 released by RSSB on March 9. There was an overall decrease in the number of fatalities, while the sustained increase in ridership continued, ...
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NewsCompetition & Markets Authority calls for increase in on-rail competition
UK: Increasing on-rail competition between passenger train operators could bring lower fares, ridership growth, improved service quality, innovation, greater efficiency and more effective use of network capacity, the Competition & Markets Authority says in a report published on March 8. CMA began its review of competition in the rail market ...
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NewsNetwork Rail tests market for private investment in power infrastructure
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced on March 4 that it was looking at options for bringing in private capital and expertise to support the operation, maintenance, renewal, financing and enhancement of its electrical distribution and traction power assets. This will include assessing interest in its electrical assets from global ...
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NewsRegional bidding dropped under NS reform plan
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS announced a programme of structural reforms for 2016-19 on March 1, saying its primary future focus would be on the designated core rail network. NS will no longer bid to operate local services under contracts tendered by the provinces, and the Qbuzz rail and bus ...
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NewsComment: The price of safety
Technical advances have to be considered and treated as part of an overall risk reduction strategy, argues our Editor-in-Chief Chris Jackson.
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NewsTime to get ahead of the game
With her review of Network Rail's structure and financing expected to be published in March, HS1 CEO Nicola Shaw outlined her thinking to the Railway Study Association in London.
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NewsIndian Railways to meet ‘desires of common man’ by 2020
INDIA: Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu set out a three-pronged strategy of ‘new revenues, new norms and new structures’ when he presented the 2016-17 Indian Railways budget on February 25. Rather than announcing ambitious new projects, Prabhu focused on ongoing programmes, optimising capacity and improving services. He said IR ...
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NewsUIC and OSJD sign co-operation agreement
EUROPE: International Union of Railways Director-General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux and Organisation for Co-operation between Railways Chairman Tadeusz Szozda signed a memorandum of co-operation covering the period 2016-20 on February 23. UIC said co-operation with OSJD would focus on the creation of an ‘interoperable rail transport system’ in the Eurasian region. ...
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NewsFRA awards level crossing upgrading grants
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded nearly $10m in grants for nine projects to increase the safety of level crossings on routes used by oil trains. ‘Today's grants will upgrade the warning systems at critical crossings and close others where crude oil and other energy products are transported’, said ...
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NewsAmtrak reviews Gulf Coast revival
Sunset Limited was cut back to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005." src="https://d1x8q5iq3n6y12.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/dvv-library/web/import/pics/tn_us-amtrak-sunset_limited_02.jpg?w=660" />USA: Proposals to reinstate inter-city passenger services between New Orleans and Jacksonville are moving forward, with the operation of a special inspection train by Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission on February 18-19 to examine the ...
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NewsSignalling TSI revised
EUROPE: Meeting on February 10, the European Union’s Railway Interoperability & Safety Committee – bringing together representatives of the member states – voted unanimously in favour of the proposed recast of the Control Command & Signalling TSI. Being enacted as a Commission Regulation, the Change Control Management Regulation enacts a ...
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NewsGovernment support for Russian rolling stock manufacturers
RUSSIA: Details of government support for the rolling stock manufacturing industry were set out by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on February 9. Speaking at Tver Carriage Works during a conference on the prospects for the rolling stock industry, Medvedev said the government’s objective was to ensure the ...
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NewsFunding for Devon and Cornwall enhancements study
UK: Funding for a study into the potential for electrification and raising line speeds between London, Devon and Cornwall was announced on February 9. The study is to be funded and commissioned by franchisee Great Western Railway and carried out by Network Rail, and will be used to inform a ...
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NewsNorway starts passenger service tendering process
NORWAY: The Ministry of Transport & Communications announced on February 4 that it had called competitive tenders for an initial two contracts for the operation of passenger services from December 2018. Tender 1 covers the Sørlandet, Jær and Arendal lines in the south of Norway. Tender 2 covers Trondheim – ...