All Policy articles – Page 77
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NewsThello brings open access to France
EUROPE: From October 17 customers will be able to book berths on the first open-access passenger service to operate on the French network, an overnight train from Paris to Venezia that is to be introduced on December 11 by the Thello joint venture of Veolia Transdev and Trenitalia. Announcing the ...
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NewsFederal funding to upgrade Chicago – Detroit
USA: Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on October 5 the award of a US$196·5m grant to Michigan Department of Transportation for track and signalling improvements on the Kalamazoo – Dearborn section of the Chicago – Detroit line, which are intended to cut Amtrak journey times between the two cities ...
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NewsSølvegade 40 goes up for sale
DENMARK: As national passenger operator DSB struggles to restore its finances, new Chief Executive Christian Roslev has announced plans to sell the company’s iconic headquarters building in København. The 240-year old former barracks at Sølvgade 40 has been national railway’s headquarters for the past 83 years, but the idea of ...
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NewsRZD to increase 2011 investment spending
RUSSIA: Presenting the Russian Railways results for the first nine months of 2011 in Moscow on October 5, RZD President Vladimir Yakunin confirmed that the railway was planning to increase its capital spending for the current year by 18%. The railway had initially approved an investment programme totalling 349bn roubles, ...
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NewsEuropean Commission launches Channel Tunnel infringement proceedings
EUROPE: The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against France and the UK over their 'failure to implement legislation to open the market for rail services in the Channel Fixed Link'. On September 29 the Commission said the countries have two months to respond before it requests full implementation of ...
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NewsRegioJet launch brings inter-city competition
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access operator RegioJet launched services between Praha and Havírov on September 26, breaking Czech Railways' monopoly on long-distance passenger services by competing directly with CD's premium Pendolino service. RegioJet is initially running three trains each way per day, calling at nine intermediate stations including Ostrava-Hlavní, Olomouc and ...
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NewsASEAN announces infrastructure fund
ASIA: A fund to finance major infrastructure projects was announced by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on September 24, with Malaysian finance minister Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah saying it would 'help forge the road, rail and energy links the region needs to create a greater degree of well-being for ...
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NewsSenate vote puts US inter-city rail vision in doubt
USA: The Senate Appropriations Committee voted on September 21 to provide $110m in funding for inter-city passenger rail enhancements in the next financial year, a fraction of the $8bn President Obama had requested under his long-term plan to provide inter-city passenger rail services to 80% of the population by 2036. ...
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NewsArgentina close to completing Chinese deals
ARGENTINA: At the end of an official visit to Beijing at the head of a high-level trade mission, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman announced on September 9 that negotiations had been completed with China Machinery & Equipment Corp for a US$2·5bn upgrade of the Belgrano rail network. The contract 'will be ...
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NewsRift Valley funding
AFRICA: A US$165m package of funding towards a US$287m five-year programme of capital investment in the railway linking the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the Ugandan capital Kampala was signed by Rift Valley Railways, the two governments, six development organisations and a local bank on August 4. Now owned by ...
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NewsFreight One sale set for October 28
RUSSIA: The government has set October 28 as the date for the auction of a 75% minus two shares stake in Freight One, Russian Railways announced on September 7. Russian-registered non-state companies 'with a stable financial position and experience of operating railway rolling stock' will be able to bid to ...
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NewsCertain progress at KiwiRail
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail CEO Jim Quinn believes his business has a 'certainty' about its future that has not been seen for many years as it enters the second year of a 10-year turnaround plan which aims to make operations financially independent. 'The investment going into rail in the next two ...
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NewsADB approves loan for Indian Railways investment programme
INDIA: The Asian Development Bank board approved a multi-tranche financing facility of up to US$500m to support the Ministry of Railways' US$1·1bn Railway Sector Investment Programme on August 31. Due to be completed by December 2018, the programme includes double tracking, electrification and resignalling on busy freight and passenger routes ...
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NewsSNCF takes Westbahn stake
AUSTRIA: On August 23 SNCF confirmed that it had bought a 26% stake in Rail Holding AG, the parent company of open access operator Westbahn Management GmbH. The purchase takes the form of an injection of share capital into Rail Holding, which becomes a three-way joint venture between SNCF ...
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NewsECORailS guidelines offer 15% energy saving
EUROPE: A 5% saving in energy can be achieved immediately and a 15% saving by 2020, according to a two-year EU-backed study into the incorporation of energy and environmental criteria into the procurement of regional passenger services. A list of 11 technologies and operating measures which can be specified by ...
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NewsRITES leaves Tanzania Railways Ltd concession
TANZANIA: The government took full control of Tanzania Railways Ltd with effect from August 1, after operating concessionaire RITES pulled its Indian staff out on July 27 and transferred its shareholding. Established as a 51:49 joint venture between RITES and the government, TRL took over operation of the 2 700 ...
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NewsNew minister sets out priorities for Indian Railways
INDIA: Two days after being sworn in as Railway Minister, Dinesh Trivedi set out his priorities for Indian Railways during his first visit to IR headquarters on July 14. Trivedi said he plans to implement the Vision 2020 set out by his predecessor Mamata Banerjee. He will give priority to ...
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NewsFranchising timetable seeks value for money
UK: Aiming to produce a 'deliverable and balanced programme', on August 5 Transport Secretary Philip Hammond published a timetable for re-letting eight passenger franchises over the next three years. 'My aim in doing so is to give the market clarity about the timing of the opportunities that will arise', ...
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NewsRussian Railways to sell Freight One stake
RUSSIA: The government is to auction 75% minus two shares in Russian Railways' First Freight Company as a single lot, RZD announced on August 1. Freight One is Russia's largest rail freight operator, created in July 2007 with RZD holding 100% minus a single share which is owned by Baminvest. ...
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NewsSignal failure suspected in Wenzhou crash
CHINA: ‘Design flaws’ in the signalling on the Ningbo – Wenzhou high speed line led to the fatal rear-end collision near Wenzhou on July 22, according to the recently-appointed head of the Shanghai Railway Bureau An Lusheng. The accident is now reported to have killed 39 people and injured 192. ...