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Rail Articles

The Italian railway network looks to the future

4 August 2011 | By Michele Mario Elia, CEO, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI)

My last contribution to Global Railway Review was back in Issue 4 2008, when I was interviewed about the then current status and view of high-speed operations in Italy. Since then Italy has changed a great deal where infrastructure is concerned. The Italian High-Speed/High-Capacity (HS/HC) network Today, Italy is a…

Interview spotlight: Kapsch CarrierCom

8 June 2011 | By Michel Clement was interviewed by Craig Waters, Editor

With a market share of 52% of the GSM-R global market, measured in kilometers of railway tracks covered by GSM-R railway infrastructure, Kapsch CarrierCom is the number one supplier worldwide. In an interview for Global Railway Review, Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vice President of GSM-R, Michel Clement, tells us what railway operators…

Priority plans for railways in Latvia

31 May 2011 | By Uldis Augulis, Minister of Transport, Republic of Latvia

Latvia has historically been on the crossroads of European transport routes. Its geographical location allows the country to be a considerable player in cargo transportation and logistics, serving significant cargo volumes from our Western partner countries (in the EU) and other places to the east – countries such as Russia,…

Allegro boosts rail travel from Helsinki to St. Petersburg

31 May 2011 | By Antti Jaatinen, Senior Vice President of Passenger Services, VR-Group Ltd and Maarit Haavisto-Koskinen, Head of International Marketing, VR-Group Ltd and Mika Heijari, Head of External Communications, VR-Group Ltd and Tiina Nieminen, Managing Director, Avecra Oy

The high-speed Allegro rail service between Helsinki in Finland and St. Petersburg in Russia began operating on 12 December 2010. The service cuts the journey time between the two cities by more than two hours to three and a half hours. The Allegros have a top speed of 220km/h and…

A turning point for Norwegian railways

31 May 2011 | By Elisabeth Enger, Director General, Jernbaneverket

2011 will be an exciting year for Norwegian railways. The past year was unfortunately marred by widespread service disruption and much criticism from passengers, the media and politicians. Our goal at Jernbaneverket, the Norwegian National Rail Administration, is that 2011 should be the turning point where we begin to see…

Investments are key to the development of Eesti Raudtee

31 May 2011 | By Arvo Smiltinsh, Member of the Management Board – Infrastructure Director, AS EVR Infra

Whilst the other Baltic countries are still considering whether to start work on the Rail Baltica project and discussing how extensive it should be, Estonia will soon be completing the reconstruction of the southbound railway line. The group of undertakings under Eesti Raudtee was established on 14 January 2009, when…

Maximising the benefits of re-signalling the Danish railway network

31 May 2011 | By Claus Nymark, Manager, Engineering Team of the Signalling Programme, Banedanmark

The Danish parliament Manager, Engineering Team of the Signalling Programme, Banedanmark has decided to fund a €3.2 billion replacement programme of renewing all Danish railway signalling before 2021. The programme is unique in Europe both in size and in its approach of focusing on economies of scale and creating a…

London Southend Airport railway station development project

31 May 2011 | By Kirk Taylor, Managing Director & Stephen Harker, Project Manager, Stobart Rail

By any measure, a new main line railway station is a rare commodity. There has been only a handful over the past 20 years, some linked to regional airports. But the south-east region in the UK now has its own, all-new, congestion-easing rail-air interchange at Southend Airport – the work…

A new era for rail travel in Northern Ireland

31 May 2011 | By Mal McGreevy, General Manager – Rail Services, Translink NI Railways

Rail travel in Northern Ireland is a major success story with over 60% customer growth since 2002 exceeding government targets. Two years ago, Translink NI Railways celebrated delivering 10 million passenger journeys in a year – the highest on record in the company’s history and we are on schedule to…

CER’s commitment and involvement with the progress of ETCS throughout Europe

31 May 2011 | By Libor Lochman, Deputy Executive Director, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER)

The legal environment of the European rail system has dramatically changed during the last two decades. The three rail packages have caused a completely new structure of the railway business and induced an introduction of a number of new actors on the European railway market. Furthermore, in order to enable…

Reforming Russia’s railway network: final phase

31 May 2011 | By Vladimir Yakunin, President, Russian Railways

The restructuring of the railway, which has traditionally been a natural monopoly sector of the economy, is an important benchmark for the economic development of all European countries. Russia too is currently in the process of reforming its rail transport, in line with a government-approved programme that has now reached…

Innovation – a major sucess factor for future product developments within Bombardier Transportation Bogie Business Unit

31 May 2011 | By Markus Dengler, Director of Standardisation, R&D and Innovation Management, Bogie Business Unit, Bombardier Transportation

Since the 1930s, the rolling stock industry lost its role as ‘technology and innovation driver’ which it held for a century from the 1830s to 1930s, to the aircraft and automotive industry. Today, the railway industry is perceived as a ‘technology follower’ rather than a ‘technology driver’. In addition, a…

Keeping Europe’s railways rolling

31 May 2011 | By Dr. Raimund Abele, EURAXLES Chairman

EURAXLES is a three-year EU/industry research programme lead by UNIFE which aims to reduce the risk of axle failure to a level where it is no longer a significant threat to safe operation. The project unites 23 partners across Europe including six axle manufacturers, four railway operators/IMs, two system integrators,…

The Focus is on punctuality

6 April 2011 | By Ashwin Kumar, Rail Passenger Director, Passenger Focus

Passenger Focus is the independent consumer watchdog which, through its National Passenger Survey (NPS), provides a network-wide picture of passenger satisfaction with Britain’s rail services. Overall, Passenger Focus’s NPS of more than 31,000 passengers reveals that overall satisfaction has been rising gradually over recent years – with 84% satisfied in…