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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…

A long-term vision for next generations

6 April 2011 | By Michel Clement, President, Kapsch CarrierCom

GSM-R is a big area of the railway industry. Many railway operators worldwide are integrating and upgrading their systems to ensure that they are running their networks as best as possible. In an interview with Craig Waters, Editor of Global Railway Review, Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vice President of GSM-R, Michel Clement,…

The role of the Federal Network Agency

6 April 2011 | By Prof. Dr. Karsten Otte, Head of Rail Regulation Department, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)

The German rail market is – due to its size of infrastructure and number of customers and its central transit position within Europe – a very interesting target for domestic and foreign train operators. Both the European legal framework and the German Railway reform programme of 1994 encouraged liberalisation of…

“We are consolidating and strengthening our European network”

6 April 2011 | By Dr. Alexander Hedderich, CEO of DB Schenker Rail

Thanks to strong companies, and cooperation and joint ventures with partner railways which have matured over the years, DB Schenker Rail offers rail freight services throughout almost the whole of Europe. DB Schenker Rail comprises the three regions East, Germany/Central and West. The regions are supported by central functions such…

AKN – attractive public transport for Northern Germany

6 April 2011 | By Dr. Klaus Franke, Executive Board Member, AKN Eisenbahn AG

With 128 years of tradition in railway traffic, AKN Eisenbahn AG looks back on a proud history. Operating 39 double traction wagons, AKN’s service is of utmost importance to ca. 12 million passengers a year, as it opens up metropolitan Hamburg and the interior of Schleswig-Holstein to the public. AKN’s…

Partial productivity measurement in rail freight transport

6 April 2011 | By Ulrich Weidmann, Professor for Transport Systems and Stephan Moll, PhD Student, Institute of Transport Planning and Systems, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Rail freight transportation in Europe is a challenging business, characterised by low margins and high fixed costs. In this context, an efficient and effective use of production resources, such as locomotives, freight wagons or engine drivers, is a fundamental requirement for the financial success of freight railways.

CODE24: One corridor – one strategy!

6 April 2011 | By Jörg Saalbach, Representative of European Affairs for the Regional Planning Authority Rhein-Neckar

The trans-European railway axis (TEN-T) no. 24, also called ‘Corridor 24’ is the major North-South freight corridor in Europe connecting the international harbours of Rotterdam and Antwerp to the Mediterranean port of Genoa. Corridor 24 covers a number of the most important economic regions in Europe. The major European North-South…

Track21: Railway track research for the 21st century

6 April 2011 | By William Powrie, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton and Tony Leyland, Project Coordinator for Track21 and Secretary of the Rail Research UK Association (RRUK-A)

Track21 is a major new research programme funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with the aim of developing the fundamental science needed to bring about a step-change improvement in the performance of the UK’s railway track system. Led by Professor William Powrie of the University of…