List view / Grid view
6 December 2011 | By Jean-Pierre Audoux, Director General, the French Railway Industry Association (FIF)
Since 2010, there has been no end to the discussions and questions about the future of the French rail system and about the future of the French rail industry in particular. The collapse in rail cargo, the constant increase in the system’s debt, the ageing of the railway network, the…
6 December 2011 | By Mayorkinos Papaelias, Scientific Coordinator, SAFERAIL and Ian Nicholson Project Coordinator, SAFERAIL
Today’s European rail networks are getting busier with trains travelling at higher speeds, and carrying more passengers and heavier axle loads, than ever before. This combination of factors is putting considerable pressure on the existing infrastructure, leading to increased demands in inspection and maintenance of rail assets.
6 December 2011 | By Igor Alonso-Portillo, Director for Strategy and Business Development, CETEST
CETEST Test and Analysis Centre is an independent accredited laboratory focusing on the testing of railway vehicles. With headquarters in the North of Spain, we are a global company serving a diversity of customers ranging from railway undertakings (operators), system integrators (vehicle manufacturers) to equipment sub suppliers. The tests we…
22 September 2011 | By Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, Minister of Infrastructure, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy & Communications, Sweden
Sweden is a vast country. The distance from Ystad in the south to Kiruna in the north is approximately 1,800km, yet Sweden only has 9.3 million inhabitants. The majority of Swedes live in the southern half of the country and the population has, for a long time, become increasingly concentrated…
22 September 2011 | By Björn Westerberg, Director of High-Speed Train Project, SJ AB
When the tilting train X2000 was introduced 21 years ago, it dramatically changed the way of travel in Sweden. Travelling by rail took substantial market shares from airlines and road traffic. The key success factors were higher speed (200km/h on existing infrastructure), point-to-point travel, significantly reduced travel time, better comfort…
22 September 2011 | By Gunnar Alexandersson, Senior Policy Advisor, The Association of Swedish Train Operating Companies (ASTOC)
The Association of Swedish Train Operating Companies (ASTOC) acts on behalf of Sweden’s train operators. It seeks to represent the interests of commercial rail traffic in its dealing with the Government and Parliament, authorities, business principals, the media and other bodies. ASTOC also assists in increasing the rail industry’s know-how…
22 September 2011 | By Lennart Klerdal, Chairman of the Board, SWERIG (Swedish Rail Industry Group)
Since the introduction of modern railways, the Swedish railway industry has been at the forefront of railway technology. Over the years, the Swedish rail industry has earned a worldwide reputation as a group of innovative and reliable suppliers. Industrial enterprises like ASEA, Ericsson and SKF were early to gain leading…
22 September 2011 | By Dirk Beckers, Executive Director, Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA)
The Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA) is an Executive Agency of the European Union which was created in 2006 by the European Commission to implement the TEN-T programme on its behalf and in particular to monitor the technical and financial implementation of all TEN-T projects. The Agency is…
22 September 2011 | By Mary Bonar, Recognised leading rail and project finance lawyer, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and Member of the Independent Transport Commission
The Rail Value for Money Study commissioned in 2010 by Britain’s then Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, and the Office of Rail Regulation, and continued by the Coalition government, Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, was published in its final form in May 2011. It is to be followed by a government White…
22 September 2011 | By Cristóbal Pérez Monjardín, Director of Financial Planning and Budget, Spanish Railway, Infrastructure Administrator (ADIF)
In 2010, the Infrastructure Extraordinary Plan (Plan Extraordinario de Infraestructuras (PEI)) of the Ministry of Public Works began, with expected tenders in the region of €17,000 million – the equivalent to 1.7% of Spanish GDP – which meant a turning point in the model used up until then in Spain…
22 September 2011 | By James Erwin, ‘New Trains Two’ Programme Manager, Translink NI Railways
Rail travel in Northern Ireland is a huge success story. More-and-more people are choosing to take the train following service enhancements in recent years and the introduction of 23 Translink NI Railways Class 3000 trains in 2005. These developments have brought enormous benefits to passengers, greatly improving levels of reliability…
22 September 2011 | By Bart Vantorre, President, Bombardier Transportation, Bogies Business Unit
If you had told me that after graduating as an electromechanical engineer, I would spend most of my career in the railway sector, I would have been surprised but immediately attracted by the prospect. Rolling Stock products are fascinating and quickly evolving products. The rail sector is an industry where…
4 August 2011 | By Peter Füglistaler, Director of the Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland
No country has better train and bus services than Switzerland. But recent increases in passenger numbers are stretching the system to its limits, especially at peak travel periods. Switzerland has therefore set clear priorities for future rail expansion: to increase capacity through longer, more frequent trains. Reductions in journey times…
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has the densest rail network in the world in terms of the number of trains per kilometre per day – and the number is still rising. This is a challenge that must be met without compromising on safety. Trains must therefore be monitored and scheduled with…
4 August 2011 | By Renzo Simoni, CEO, AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd
On 23 March 2011, between Faido and Sedrun in Switzerland, miners excavated the last metres of rock of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Both single-track tubes are therefore now continuously bored over their full length of 57 kilometres. In the Ceneri Base tunnel, the main drives from the Sigirino intermediate heading,…
