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Rail freight sector must outshine road haulage

26 February 2013 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor

A new study by consultancy firm Bain & Company into the European rail freight sector has revealed some truly shocking statistics. The report found that over a five-year period (2007-2011), the main state operators in mainland Europe – Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and Spain – accumulated net…

Moving people and cargo from A to B

20 February 2013 | By Wilma Mansveld, State Secretary of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands

As the principal government official for railways, it is my responsibility to offer the millions of people who use the Dutch public transport system the best service possible. Fortunately I am not alone when it comes to doing the hard work. Together with the various Dutch rail companies and ProRail…

Introducing our new-look Editorial Board!

20 February 2013 | By

Global Railway Review is committed to keeping our readers informed of current and future rail transport developments throughout Europe. We achieve this via our mix of project and investment coverage, regional and country profiles, technical features and industry news. To help with the continuing success of Global Railway Review, we…

Luxembourg: Heading in the right direction

20 February 2013 | By Alex Kremer, CEP, CFL

A few years ago, CFL commenced an ambitious programme of rebuilding its national railway network to meet today’s standards. By the end of 2012 we had completed two of the most important projects in this context: Modernising the Luxembourg Central Station and rebuilding the existing single-line track between Luxembourg and…

Infrabel invests progressively in the port of Zeebrugge

20 February 2013 | By Ann Billiau, Director-General of the Rail Access, Directorate, Infrabel

Infrabel continuously works on increasing rail capacity to, from and in the port of Zeebrugge. At the end of 2012, the Belgian rail infrastructure manager made available a new rail infrastructure to its customers. Sea-rail strategy between natural allies In accordance with its strategy, Infrabel is working on a step-by-step…

Hanzelijn makes the Netherlands even smaller

20 February 2013 | By Jaap Balkenende, Project Manager – Hanzelijn, ProRail

“The Netherlands, here you are” were proud words of the 2012 Dutch Olympic gold medallist Ranomi Kromowidjojo. ProRail can also use the same words when speaking about the Hanzelijn – the newest railway track that the railway manager has built between Lelystad and Zwolle – we are proud of the…

Developing key standards for rail security at ProRail

20 February 2013 | By Peter Prak, Programme Manager for Security, ProRail

ProRail, the Dutch Rail Infrastructure Manager has recently developed standards for rail security: risk based, all hazard and fit for an open system. What were the considerations to develop a dedicated set of standards, which methodology is used and what will be the way forward? The government policy for rail…

Keeping passengers informed during disruption

20 February 2013 | By Alex Hynes, Managing Director - Rail Development

British transport company Go-Ahead is one of the country’s major transport groups. Its bus and rail companies serve over one billion passengers a year, or 2.7 million people a day. The Group has 23,000 staff working across its operations which stretch from Plymouth in the south west to Newcastle in…

Your gateway to the rail market in France

20 February 2013 | By

Plans are now well underway for SIFER 2013, which takes place at the Lille Grand Palais exhibition centre in France from 26 to 28 March. This year’s show will be the eighth in a highly successful series of events that have established SIFER as the essential showcase in France for…

Development of the railway sector in the Republic of Bulgaria

20 February 2013 | By Ivaylo Moskovski, Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Bulgaria

A very important factor for the development of the transport sector in the Republic of Bulgaria is its geographical location, providing a good link between Europe and Asia and a bridge between the West and the East. To a great extent this pre-determines the potential functions of Bulgaria from a…

Positive financial future for rail in Bulgaria

18 February 2013 | By Joanna Dimitrova, Financial Director of NRIC

In 2012, the NRIC (the National Railway Infrastructure Company of Bulgaria) reported very good financial results and succeeded in clearing all debts owed to external partners. In a comprehensive interview for Global Railway Review, Joanna Dimitrova, Financial Director of NRIC speaks about these recent achievements and what can be expected…

RESTRUCTURING generates MODERNISATION in Croatia

18 February 2013 | By Darko Peričić, President of the Board HŽ Infrastruktura

The end of October 2012 saw the finalisation of the status and structural changes to the HŽ Holding system in the scope of the Restructuring Programme, and now we are entering a new phase in the organisation of the railways in Croatia in which three independent companies will seek new…

Where technology meets the market

18 February 2013 | By

New developments in the European railway industry follow each other in rapid succession. The high-speed network is growing in many countries. For example, the existing connection on the conventional railway link between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels has been pgraded to a new high-speed link and has considerably reduced the…

Solving Stockholm’s bottleneck problem

18 February 2013 | By Eskil Sellgren,Deputy Managing Director for WSP Sweden,

When completed in 2017, the new City Line will double the capacity of rail travel into the centre of Stockholm – ensuring the long-term develop - ment of rail travel and for creating an attractive and efficient public transport system that meets the demands and requirements of the city. Three…