Norwegian rail became a ‘victim of its own success’, operator Flytoget drew the short straw
Part 1The current airport express rail service in Norway will not be continued with Flytoget after the contract with the operator expires. The other national operator, Vy, will take over operations, after getting the contract for...Read more
French Transportation Authority confirms positive impact of competition
The opening up of French rail passenger transport services to competition has led to an improvement in the rail offer for freely organised services in 2022, shows a recent report from the French Autorité de...Read more
Edinburgh – London route shows Europe the way for modal shift
For business travellers eager to demonstrate their environmental credentials, there’s a shift to trains over planes. Now, with additional competition on Europe’s prestige routes, leisure travellers are looking at greener travel decisions that may be...Read more
German cartel office slaps DB on the wrist for “abusing its market power”
Deutsche Bahn (DB) is in breach of antitrust law as the DB Group is abusing its market power against mobility platforms, the German Federal Cartel Office ruled this week. The state-owned railway company has been...Read more
Merger Hitachi and Thales could negatively impact digitalisation, says UK body
Hitachi’s 1.7-billion-euro proposed acquisition of the Thales’ Ground Transportation (GTS) business could lead to a “substantial lessening of competition in the supply of digital mainline and urban signalling rail systems, impacting cost and service quality...Read more
Renfe given green light for French branch, ticket sale about to start
Spanish operator Renfe has completed the registration of its branch in Lyon in the French commercial register. The company can start commercial activity imminently, and ticket sale for the first services Barcelona – Lyon and...Read more
Arriva and Qbuzz request access for trains between the Netherlands and Paris
Competition for the Thalys between the Netherlands and Paris may just arrive within several years. Both Arriva and Qbuzz have officially requested to operate trains in open access to Paris. Qbuzz also made a request...Read more
Rail market opening and Belgium: time for a discussion
While in Belgium SNCB is scheduled to receive a renewed concession for the next 10 years, the course from the European Commission in Brussels is instead to bring about more market opening on the railways,...Read more
FlixTrain plan trains to the Netherlands from next year
FlixTrain’s bright green trains that are already running in Germany and Sweden may come to the Netherlands next year. Flix notified the Dutch Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) this week and applied for track capacity...Read more
Ouigo inaugurates third Spanish high-speed service
Ouigo Spain has launched its third high-speed service last Friday, connecting Madrid to Albacete and to coastal city Alicante. Low-cost operator Ouigo now connects the two cities in less than two and a half hours...Read more
Finland explores competition in passenger rail after 2030
With the current passenger rail service contracts expiring in 2030, publicly funded passenger rail traffic in Finland will need to be reorganised in 2031 to meet the European Union’s agreed-upon goals. The Finnish ministry of...Read more
Entry of Ouigo and Iryo in Spain made passenger numbers soar
The passenger numbers on the Madrid-València corridor doubled and surpassed one million users in the final quarter of 2022, compared to the same period the year before, shows the quarterly report of the rail market...Read more
AllRail: Sweden’s night train subsidy for Stockholm – Berlin is unfair competition
The alliance of independent passenger rail companies AllRail says plans by Swedish state-owned operator SJ to extend its night train Stockholm-Hamburg to Berlin will cause unfair competition, as operator Snälltåget runs night trains on that...Read more