All Policy articles – Page 89
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NewsObama announces inter-city rail funding programme
USA: An ambitious strategic programme to spend $13bn on 10 'high speed' rail corridors over five years was unveiled by President Barack Obama on April 16, as part of an initiative to reduce fuel consumption, pollution, traffic congestion and airport overcrowding. The federal $787bn economic stimulus plan includes ...
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NewsCompetition through the Channel Tunnel
EUROPE: Presenting the FaberMaunsell/Aecom lecture on the future of rail freight in the UK at the Institution of Civil Engineers on March 12, Rail Freight Group Chairman Lord Berkeley announced that the first ‘open access’ freight train through the Channel Tunnel would be running that night. It transpires that the ...
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NewsHaenel urges change at SNCF
FRANCE: Anyone studying French railway policy over the last 20 years will find that one name stands out as a supporter of proposals to steer strategy towards a more commercial and viable future. That name is Hubert Haenel, Senator for Haut-Rhin, who, since he chaired an inquiry into SNCF in ...
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NewsDaunting tasks lie ahead
INDIA: Commending Indian Railways as scaling ‘a new pinnacle every year’, buoyed by a steady year-on-year increase in freight and passenger output during the last five years, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad told the Lok Sabha on February 26 that IR was now standing at ‘the zenith of success’. Introducing the ...
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NewsState Railway of Thailand split approved
THAILAND: Two new companies are to be launched within six months, following the adoption of plans for restructuring State Railway of Thailand last month. Meeting in early March, the State Enterprise Policy Committee chaired by Deputy Premier Korbsak Sabhavasu instructed the Ministry of Finance to bring forward proposals for endorsement ...
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NewsOutsourcing is off
CZECH REPUBLIC: Minister of Transport Petr Bendl confirmed on March 10 that he was cancelling plans to outsource maintenance and repair of the national rail network. Announced by SZDC on January 8, the plan had been endorsed by former Transport Minister Ales Rebícek. Bidders were to have submitted proposals by ...
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NewsGrube nominated to replace Mehdorn
GERMANY:?Rüdiger Grube has been nominated by the federal government to replace Deutsche Bahn’s Chairman & Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn, who tendered his resignation on March 30 in the wake of further revelations about the covert surveillance of DB staff. Grube is currently Director of Corporate Development at car manufacturer Daimler, ...
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NewsRDC in French freight venture
FRANCE:?Transport minister Dominique Bussereau announced on March 31 the creation of a joint venture to promote local and wagonload freight services. The company is intended to provide expertise, financial and project planning assistance and operational input to encourage small businesses to transport freight over short distances by rail - the ...
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NewsLoubinoux to lead UIC headquarters
INTERNATIONAL: The current Managing Director of SNCF International, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, has been selected as the first Director-General of Services at the International Union of Railways. The appointment was decided at an assessment meeting in Paris on March 30, ahead of a special meeting of UIC’s General Assembly on March 31. ...
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NewsMehdorn to step down from DB
GERMANY: The controversy over accusations that Deutsche Bahn had undertaken covert surveillance of its own staff claimed its most high profile victim on March 30, when Chairman & CEO Hartmut Mehdorn tendered his resignation. Although by the end of the day Mehdorn’s offer had not been formally accepted, it was ...
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NewsTighter times ahead
UK: Economic recession is starting to put strains on the UK rail industry, after steady growth in the years following privatisation. Stringent efficiency targets have been set for Network Rail over the next five years, and concerns are emerging that some franchises may not meet ambitious revenue projections.
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NewsAFRA lobbies for French rail operators
FRANCE: A lobby group to represent new entrants in the French rail sector was formally launched on March 18. Association Française du Rail is intended to bring together 'all the actors who believe that the French railway sector will not achieve its full and sound development without an open competitive ...
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NewsRecession brings growth
ISRAEL: ISR is predicting stronger growth in passenger traffic during 2009 as a result of the global economic downturn. Announcing the railway’s annual plan and preliminary results for 2008 on January 28, General Manager Yitzhak Harel said the railway was preparing for a rise of between 11% and 13% during ...
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NewsDB torpedoes a freight-oriented network
GERMANY: European proposals to give freight trains priority on international corridors have provoked a fierce reaction from Berlin. Murray Hughes reports.
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NewsHigh speed frenzy follows election
USA: Not surprisingly, a request for expressions of interest to develop high speed rail corridors has attracted a considerable degree of attention, despite the country’s poor track record with privately-funded projects and the limited prospects for such schemes going ahead in the current economic climate. Legislation passed by Congress last ...
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NewsAnti-corruption drive lands DB in trouble
GERMANY: An extraordinary row about the sensitive subject of personal information is occupying senior managers at Deutsche Bahn. The affair is serious enough for politicians to demand the head of DB’s pugnacious Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn, who not for the first time is defending his patch with characteristic vigour. The ...
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NewsGreen and black money
DENMARK: Parliament agreed a DKr94bn transport infrastructure plan running to 2020 on January 29. This brings forward infrastructure projects which had been planned for 2010 onwards, and was described by Transport Minister Lars Barfoed as ‘two-thirds green, one third black’, reflecting the split between public transport and roads. ...
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NewsObama boosts high speed rail and transit spending
USA: At a ceremony in Denver on February 17, President Barack Obama officially signed the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, a $787bn economic stimulus measure which provides nearly $50bn in direct funding for transport investment. The 1 100-page bill provides $8·4bn for transit, $1·3bn for Amtrak, $8·4bn for high ...
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NewsNation Building investment plan
AUSTRALIA: The commonwealth government is to inject A$1·2bn into Australian Rail Track Corp as part of a A$4·7bn package of investment in railways, roads and education which was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on December 12. The ‘Nation Building’ spending is intended to boost the competitiveness of the Australian ...
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NewsUK Transport Minister to speak at Railway Gazette capacity conference
UK: Minister of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis will make the opening address at the Growth & the Capacity Challenge conference in London on March 10. The minister will present a keynote speech at the first session of the conference after opening the Railtex 2009 exhibition at Earl’s Court. ...