European Commission: merger of Alstom and Siemens may reduce competition
The European Commission is concerned that the merger of Alstom and Siemens may reduce competition in the supply of several types of trains and signalling systems. It has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the...Read more
Dutch track access charges to be lowered to ‘German level’
Dutch track access charges will be reduced significantly next year to be in line with the German tariffs, which will be reduced by half this year. This is part of a measure package proposed by...Read more
CEF budget proposal: 30.6 billion Euros for European transport
The European Commission has unveiled its definitive proposal for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) budget for the period 2021-2027. It confirmed a CEF Transport budget of 30.6 billion Euros, promising to continue support of improved...Read more
‘Important EU railway projects secured under post-2020 budget’
At least thirty billion Euros have been allocated to the European transport subsidy programme Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). It now looks like the investments in important railway projects such as the TEN-T corridors and the...Read more
Strukton Sweden wants more women to join the rail industry
Strukton Sweden strives to have 25 per cent of all job positions filled by women by 2020. “Half the population of Sweden is female, so why can’t the rail industry reflect that?” says Peter Arozenius,...Read more
Takeover ERS Railways by Hupac gives access to German port
Hupac will take over the share capital of ERS Railways, including ERS’s 47 per cent stake in BoxXpress. The network offered by ERS out of the German ports complements Hupac’s hinterland network focused on Antwerp...Read more
ERFA: ‘We have forgotten that modal shift is a priority’
Railways operators pay for every train kilometre. In principle, this makes all railways tollgates, while only 20 per cent of European highways and main roads require toll. A new balance must be created to initiate...Read more
Mass rail strikes underway in France
Three months of rail strikes by union organisations of French national rail operator SNCF started this week. Yesterday and today were the first two days of the strike, which involves cancellations of passenger services as...Read more
‘ProRail wants to freeze track access charges for five years’
A new method for calculating track access charges is currently being assessed by the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM). One of the suggestions that infrastructure manager ProRail has included in this proposal is...Read more
Network Rail to invest billions of pounds in British railways
Network Rail is expected to invest 47 billion pounds or almost 52 billion Euros in the improvement and expansion of the British railways in the next five years, starting next year. It’s a follow-up on...Read more
New ERTMS plan ‘reflects reality’, says CER’s Libor Lochman
The European Commission’s latest plan for helping ensure the timely delivery of a unified signalling system ‘reflects the reality’ of the current implementation process, according to a leading rail influencer. Libor Lochman, Executive Director of the...Read more