All Policy articles – Page 84
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NewsAmbitious plans will still need funding
SOUTH AFRICA: With public services on the first section of Gautrain between OR Tambo International Airport and Sandton due to start on June 8, there seems to be growing enthusiasm for railway investment. From commuter services to high speed trains and heavy haul freight, plenty of ambitious projects are under ...
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NewsRail modernisation plans signed at Kazakh investment summit
KAZAKHSTAN: Major supply contracts and rail-sector co-operation memoranda were among the agreements signed at a national investment summit held in Almaty on June 3-4. A €70m contract to design and supply signalling and telecoms for the 293 km Zhetigen - Korgas 'China Gateway' railway was signed by state railway KTZ ...
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NewsRail privatisation included in Greek asset sale
GREECE: The government announced the part-privatisation of Hellenic Railways Organisation on June 2. Stakes in a range of state-owned road, port, airport, utility and land assets are to be sold under agreements with the European Commission and international financial institutions which aim to reduce debt and tackle the country's economic ...
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News€4bn suburban spend in Valencia
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development and the Valencia regional government have unveiled a 2010-20 suburban infrastructure investment plan to which they are to contribute €34bn and €555m respectively. Major projects include a €750m cross-city link in Valencia running 6 km from the existing Nord terminus to join the route ...
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NewsMiners make cash bid for Queensland rail infrastructure
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group of 13 mining companies has submitted an unsolicited cash offer to buy QR's Central Queensland rail network from the state government, which is intending to sell up to 75% of QR National as a vertically -integrated railway through an IPO in the last ...
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NewsKTMB to leave central Singapore
SINGAPORE: The Prime Ministers of Singapore and Malaysia announced an agreement on May 24 for Malaysian national railway KTMB to vacate its Tanjong Pagar terminus in Singapore by July 1 2011. Trains from Malaysia will instead terminate at Woodlands, the Singapore end of the cross-border causeway, with a bus ...
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News10-year KiwiRail turnaround plan approved
NEW ZEALAND: On May 18 the government gave its backing to KiwiRail's NZ$4·6bn 10-year turn-around plan, providing the long-term commitment needed to retain the network and make rail 'relevant' to freight shippers. The government has allocated NZ$250m this year and agreed to a three-year package worth NZ$750m, subject to individual ...
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NewsFederal funds for faster freight
AUSTRALIA: The 2010-11 Commonwealth budget presented by the government on May 11 allocates A$1bn for capital investment by Australian Rail Track Corp, in addition to A$1·2bn provided under the Nation Building economic stimulus package in 2008. The money will be used on projects which ARTC has identified as being able ...
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NewsFour-way split proposed for Pakistan Railways
PAKISTAN: The national railway would be split into passenger, freight infrastructure and manufacturing businesses under a reform and privatisation strategy announced by the Cabinet Committee on Restructuring of Public Sector Enterprises in March. Despite protests from opposition parties and unions, the government has committed to a draft timetable which covers ...
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NewsRegioJet launches its yellow spring trains
CZECH REPUBLIC: After more than two years of campaigning and having obtained a passenger operating licence last October, the RegioJet subsidiary of travel agent and coach operator Student Agency has managed to finally enter the local rail market, albeit briefly, and to acquire a fleet of electric locomotives to support ...
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NewsPrivate finance to the rescue
SPAIN: Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero joined Development Minister José Blanco at Madrid Chamartín station last month to unveil an emergency infrastructure plan that aims to revive the national economy and create jobs by investing €17bn in 2010-11. Rail is expected to account for 70% of this spending. Tendering ...
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NewsTransnet five year plan
SOUTH AFRICA: State-owned rail, port and pipeline group Transnet set out proposals to invest R52bn in rail under its R93bn 2010-15 business plan. The biggest challenge is moving greater volumes of iron ore, manganese and coal, said acting CEO Chris Wells. Ore capacity will be increased from 47 to 60 ...
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NewsTackling PKP's debt
POLAND: The Council of Ministers has decided to take forward a bill which will provide partial debt relief for state railway holding company PKP SA. Under this plan the national treasury will use money from railway fund FK to buy out PKP SA's shares in infrastructure manager PKP PLK, ...
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NewsOTIF expands to meet modern needs
INTERNATIONAL: The recent accession of Russia is a major development for the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail, according to Secretary General Stefan Schimming, even through only a limited number of RZD routes are initially covered by the convention establishing a uniform system of regulations for cross-border traffic. Montenegro ...
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NewsChannel Tunnel fire-fighting station on test
EUROPE: Eurotunnel has carried out a live test of a fire-fighting system under development for installation in the Channel Tunnel. Trials in Spain on April 7-9 demonstrated that water mist can contain the equivalent of a fire involving 40 cars on a Shuttle train, limiting or halting propagation. The 'SAFE' ...
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NewsRail Baltica feasibility study gets underway
EUROPE: A study has begun into the feasibility of building a standard gauge railway linking Tallinn in Estonia with Latvia, Lithuania and the Polish border. On April 6 the tri-national steering committee for the Rail Baltica project held its first meeting with consultancy AECOM, which has been selected to undertaken ...
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NewsChina to Turkey train to launch this year
ASIA: Demonstration trains will link Turkey with China and Iran with central Asia this year, Mohammad Mirzaei Kahagh, Director of Transport & Communications at the Economic Co-operation Organisation told Terrapinn's EurasiaRail 2010 conference. These will build on the Pakistan - Turkey train which ran last August (RG 9.09 p3). The ...
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NewsCD reveals rolling stock requirements
CZECH REPUBLIC: National passenger operator CD published its 2010-14 rolling stock modernisation strategy on March 16, setting out plans to spend up to KC16bn rejuvenating one of the oldest fleets in the EU; at present just 6% of CD's 2 199 coaches are air-conditioned cars suitable for 160 km/h operation. ...
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NewsRZD restructures long-distance passenger business
RUSSIA: A further step in the reform of Russian Railways has been taken with the establishment of the Federal Passenger Company as a stand-alone subsidiary responsible for long-distance passenger transport activities. The creation of FPC was proposed by the RZD board in 2008 and received government approval last year. The ...
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NewsYakunin sets out investment plan
RUSSIA: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin set out details of RZD’s 555bn rouble 2010-11 investment budget at a meeting on implementation and financing sources which was chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on February 27. RZD’s projects total 435·5bn roubles, and 120bn will be used for road and rail links ...