All Policy articles – Page 83
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NewsRepublika Srpska rail investment plan
BOSNIA: Republika Srpska’s Minister of Transport Nedeljko Cubrilovi outlined plans to spend €500m over three years modernising the entity’s rail network when he signed orders for Polish wagons and workshop equipment on August 13. The contracts were placed using a €20m credit from the Polish government. EKK Wagon will supply ...
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NewsBudget crunch hits Czech rail projects
CZECH REPUBLIC: On August 9 Transport Minister Vít Bárta called an immediate halt to all railway upgrading projects being undertaken by infrastructure manager SZDC with funding from the State Transport Infrastructure Fund. The move is part of aggressive austerity measures announced by the new government which came to power ...
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NewsEC approves DB’s takeover of Arriva
EUROPE: The European Commission announced on August 11 that it had ‘approved under the EU Merger Regulation (EC 139/2004) the proposed acquisition of rail and bus operator Arriva plc of the UK by Deutsche Bahn’. However, the decision is conditional upon DB’s commitment to divest all of Arriva’s rail and ...
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NewsJordan joins OTIF ahead of launching rail expansion plan
JORDAN: The kingdom of Jordan became the 46th member of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail on August 1, and the first member to accede with associate status. When planned international rail services develop the country will seek full voting membership of OTIF, which provides a legal framework ...
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NewsQR split goes ahead
AUSTRALIA: July 1 saw the formal split of Queensland’s state-owned railway QR Ltd into two business units as part of the state’s privatisation strategy which will see coal and freight operator QR National listed on the Australian Securities Exchange later this year. QR National takes over QR Ltd’s heavy haul ...
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NewsSNIT makes rail a priority
FRANCE: With the aim of producing a definitive document by the end of this year, on July 12 the government published for consultation its SNIT transport infrastructure plan that should see €170bn invested over the next 20 to 30 years. Allocated 51·9% of this total, rail is the top priority ...
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NewsVictorian investment
AUSTRALIA: On July 12 Victorian Premier John Brumby unveiled the routes for two rail links in Melbourne as part of the A$38bn Victoria Transport Plan launched in 2009. The A$4·3bn Regional Rail Link involves the development of a new commuter service from West Werribee to the city, entailing construction ...
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NewsRZD approves formation of Second Freight Company
RUSSIA: Russian Railways gave its approval for the creation of the Second Freight Company as a new standalone subsidiary on July 26. The necessary documentation will now be passed to the RZD board for approval. Second Freight Company will be a national freight operator using its own rolling stock to ...
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NewsEC stepping up pressure
EUROPE: Last month the European Commission announced it was referring 13 member states to the European Court of Justice for ‘failing to correctly implement various parts of the basic EU legislation’ in the First Railway Package, aimed at opening up the market for competition. States were supposed to have ...
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NewsHigher funding agreed
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Transport Ministry has accepted that a higher level of funding will be needed to maintain the intensively-used national network in good condition. Under proposals published on June 23, the government intends to contribute to SBB’s short-term needs by increasing funding for infrastructure maintenance in 2011 and 2012 ...
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NewsGrant to save DR Congo railway from collapse
DR CONGO: A recovery plan to restore the financial and operational viability of national railway SNCC has been allocated 90% of the funding being made available under a World Bank-backed Multimodal Transport Project. The package is intended to rehabilitate infrastructure and ensure good governance to support economic integration and national ...
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NewsChina funds Argentina's rail revival
ARGENTINA: Chinese companies are to undertake route upgrades and supply rolling stock under a series of major contracts signed in Beijing on July 13, during the first state visit by President Cristina Fernández. With 85% of funding provided by China Development Bank, CMEC is to undertake a three-stage US$10bn upgrade ...
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NewsPrivate funds sought for freight
INDIA: Two Ministry of Railways schemes to encourage private sector investment in rail freight capacity came into effect on May 31. Investors can apply for renewable 20-year agreements to establish freight terminals providing value-added logistics services to third parties. Terminals must be on private land, and can handle all traffic ...
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NewsAfghan rail strategy takes shape
AFGHANISTAN: As work progresses rapidly on Afghanistan's first substantial railway, plans are firming up for a 1000 km standard gauge corridor running across the north of the country. This would give Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and potentially China access to world markets via the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas without requiring transit ...
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NewsLowering the bar to London
EUROPE: On June 17 the European Commission cleared the transformation of Eurostar from a co-operative arrangement between SNCF, SNCB and London & Continental Railways into a stand-alone joint venture controlled by SNCF and LCR with SNCB holding a non-controlling stake. Approval was subject to conditions which are intended to lower ...
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NewsHigh Speed 1 goes on sale
UK: Transport Secretary Philip Hammond invited bids to buy HS1 Ltd on June 21. Currently a wholly -owned subsidiary of the state-owned London & Continental Railways Ltd, HS1 Ltd has a 30 year concession to manage the 109 km high speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel. The ...
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NewsLevel crossing safety campaign
INTERNATIONAL: Rail and road operators in more than 45 countries, together with international associations including UIC, CER and EIM, are stepping up their campaign to improve safety at level crossings, with June 22 designated as International Level Crossing Awareness Day. Many road users and pedestrians are killed or injured at ...
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NewsJapanese industry in export overdrive
JAPAN: Having been selected as preferred supplier for the next generation of trains on the Washington DC metro, with up to 748 vehicles potentially worth US$1·48bn, Kawasaki has now picked up an order to supply more cars for New York. And Hitachi has set itself the task of doubling exports ...
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NewsFrance to Portugal high speed co-operation agreement
EUROPE: During a two-day conference of ministers and stakeholders held in the Spanish city of Zaragoza to discuss the Trans-European Transport Network programme, on June 8 French Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau, Spanish Development Minister José Blanco and Portuguese Minister of Public Works, Transport & Communications António Mendonça ...
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NewsCrisis at Pakistan Railways
PAKISTAN: With growing interest in the development of Trans-Asian rail links, one might think that Pakistan Railways has a promising future. But an SOS reaches us from railway headquarters in Lahore warning that PR is on the verge of collapse, following years of ‘seething indifference’ by governments of all parties. ...