All Policy articles – Page 81
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NewsGovernment commits to ÖBB infrastructure investment
AUSTRIA: The government approved a €12·8bn five-year investment framework for Austrian Federal Railways on February 1. Spending in 2011-16 will be targeted at the main West, South and Brenner corridors, as well as suburban transport, station modernisation and a programme to remove temporary speed restrictions by 2014. The government has ...
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NewsSNCB Logistics gains independence
BELGIUM: A major step in the restructuring of SNCB's freight activities came into effect on February 1, when SNCB Logistics began operating as an autonomous subsidiary owned 93·14% by SNCB and 6·86% by parent group SNCB Holding. Management and some supervisory staff have transferred to SNCB Logistics, with central services ...
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NewsFive-year programme to modernise Belarus network
BELARUS: The government approved a 2011-15 railway development programme at the end of December, setting out objectives for modernising national railway BC’s fleet, upgrading infrastructure, reducing energy consumption and ensuring safety. The cost is put at 14tr rubles, to be sourced from BC’s own resources, bank loans and national and ...
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NewsSlovak passenger market starts to open
SLOVAKIA: State-owned ZSSK’s monopoly on the operation of subsidised passenger services run in the public interest has been broken, with the Ministry of Transport awarding the RegioJet subsidiary of Czech private bus operator Student Agency a nine-year contract to operate regional passenger services on the 95 km route between Bratislava, ...
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NewsCross-border upgrading advances
VIETNAM: Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung has confirmed plans to upgrade the existing main lines between Hanoi, Hai Phong and the Chinese border crossings at Lao Cai and Dong Dang by 2020. Speaking at a conference hosted by state railway DSVN, the minister said the routes are important freight ...
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NewsARAF debut triggers change
FRANCE: Meeting on December 8, new rail regulator Autorité de Régulation des Activités Ferroviaires approved the structure of track access charges being proposed for LGV Sud Europe Atlantique between Tours and Bordeaux. This forms a key part of the funding package being put together by the Vinci-led Lisea consortium which ...
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NewsReform looks to cut costs
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Ministry of Transport established a working group last month to study options for merging passenger operator CD and infrastructure manager SZDC into one holding company. This would increase transparency in the flow of subsidies, which are to be cut under plans that were announced on November 15. ...
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NewsRail privatisation planned in Ukraine
UKRAINE: Newly-elected President Viktor Yanukovich has brought forward proposals for partial privatisation of state railway Ukrzaliznytsya as part of an economic package for the next three years which was submitted to parliament in November. UZ Deputy General Director Nikolai Sergienko said the railway would be restructured as a joint stock ...
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NewsPassenger trains to return to Norfolk
USA: Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell announced on December 20 that daily inter-city passenger trains will return to Norfolk within three years, restoring regular services to the Hampton Roads region for the first time since 1977. The announcement followed the signing of an agreement between the Commonwealth of Virginia and ...
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NewsGrant reallocations double California’s high speed pilot section
USA: The planned initial segment of California’s proposed high-speed rail network was almost doubled in length on December 20, thanks to the reallocation of federal funding promised for right-of-way upgrading schemes in Wisconsin and Ohio. Following the rejection of those projects by the two states’ newly-elected governors, the Department of ...
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NewsSeeking energy efficiency
ENERGY: The joint UIC/Unife Railenergy project concluded four years of research with a conference in Brussels on November 25. Railenergy comprised 27 partners including train operators, infrastructure managers and suppliers working together with the aim of delivering a 6% saving in total energy consumption across the industry. The conference saw ...
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NewsInter-city funding convention signed
FRANCE: A convention providing government support for residual and loss-making inter-city services on the conventional network was signed in Paris by Transport Minister Thierry Mariani and SNCF President Guillaume Pepy on December 13. Designated Trains d'Equibre du Territoire, the initiative forms part of a government commitment to support balanced national ...
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NewsCarbon efficiency must be addressed
SUSTAINABILITY: Despite the impact of railway construction projects in terms of carbon emissions, new lines still offer significant advantages in terms of long-term sustainability where there is sufficient traffic. But the carbon impact of materials and working methods needs to be optimised in the planning of future projects.
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NewsHammond puts reform back on the agenda
UK: Efficiency savings worth between £600m and £1bn are achievable by 2018-19 without reducing service quality or network size, according to an interim report examining the cost of operating and maintaining Britain’s railways. Its author, Sir Roy McNulty, is expected to submit his completed Value for Money Review to government ...
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NewsFS and Cube Infrastructure selected to buy Arriva Deutschland
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn's supervisory board formally selected a consortium of Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato and investment fund Cube Infrastructure to acquire Arriva's German activities on December 8. The price offered was a decisive factor, according to DB Chairman Dr Rüdiger Grube, but is not being disclosed. Completion ...
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NewsUS high speed plans in the balance
ANALYSIS Some US high speed plans are likely to go ahead despite the changing political landscape following the mid-term elections, but others are set to be abandoned, reports Julian Wolinsky.
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NewsBig decisions still awaited as government confirms commuter electrification
UK: The go-ahead for two previously-announced commuter electrification projects was confirmed by Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond in a statement on November 25, along with full completion of the Thameslink Programme. However an decision about electrification from London to Bristol and south Wales has been deferred ...
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News10-year contract will trigger PKP Intercity Pendolino order
POLAND: The Ministry of Infrastructure signed a 10-year contract for PKP Intercity to provide long distance train services on November 24. This will see the government pay an initial subsidy of 240m z?oty in 2011, rising by inflation +1% each year. The long-term operating agreement will enable PKP Intercity to ...
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NewsQR National valued at A$6·7bn after part-privatisation
AUSTRALIA: Trading in QR National shares began on November 22, following the Queensland state government's flotation of the country's largest rail freight operator. The state said it was the second-biggest IPO in Australian history, with a market capitalisation of A$6·22bn and an enterprise value of A$6·70bn. The state raised gross ...
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NewsPrivate commuter operator launches
RUSSIA: Perm Express launched commuter services on 47 km of the Sverdlovsk Railway between Perm II and Divya on November 1. The privately-owned company was formed in January and received a passenger licence in September. Perm Express is independent of both Russian Railways and the regional government, which operate commuter ...