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Rail Articles

The role of the European Railway Agency for ERTMS – answering the challenge

10 December 2010 | By Pio Guido, Head of the ERTMS Unit, European Railway Agency (ERA)

Railways epitomise the triumph of engineering. From the early exploits of technological progress in the Victorian age, to the most recent speed records, from the age of steam power to the age of power semiconductors, engineering prowess has always been closely associated with the railway world. Engineers have been successful…

Innovation and experience

10 December 2010 | By AF Group

The ÅF Group is a leader in technical consulting, with expertise founded on more than a century of experience. The ÅF Group offers highly qualified services and solutions for industrial processes, infrastructure projects and the development of products and IT systems. Today, the ÅF Group has approximately 4,000 employees. The…

Three new connections in the Portuguese network

10 December 2010 | By Romeu Costa Reis, Member of the Board, REFER EPE

In 2010, REFER EPE – the Portuguese rail infrastructure manager – opens three new connections of great importance for the rail network in Portugal. Three investments in the Main Network, considered as priorities in the Strategic Guidelines for the Railway Sector established by the Portuguese Government in 2006, include the…

Deploying Neopul’s know-how in Dublin

10 December 2010 | By Paulo Jorge Ribeiro Corte Real de Oliveira, Project Manager, Neopul

This report describes Neopul’s work on the Luas b1-400 extension of the Green Line from the Sandyford depot to Cherrywood industrial estate, which was opened to the public on 16 October 2010. The green line was the existing connection from Dublin city centre (St. Stephen’s Green Station) and the recent…

Adapting rail infrastructure to climate change: cooperation pays off

10 December 2010 | By Hendrik Abma, Executive Director, EIM (European Rail Infrastructure Managers)

The unexpected heavy snow falls and low temperatures of the last winter have shown how vulnerable transport infrastructure is to extreme or unusual weather conditions. More severe winters are just one of the consequences of climate change that affect Europe and its transport system. Heat waves, megafires and floods appear…

The Spanish rail industry – pioneer in technological advances

20 September 2010 | By Pedro Fortea, Director at MAFEX (the Spanish Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Equipment and Services for the Railway Industry)

Spanish rail companies represent a pioneering industry that has become one of the main reference points in many transport projects worldwide due to their expertise and highly developed technological advances. The Spanish rail industry has experienced significant growth during recent years as a result of the technological advances developed by…

Winter delays and disruption – combating the cold

20 September 2010 | By Gunnar Malm, Director General, Trafikverket – the Swedish Transport Administration

The hard winter of 2009/2010 led to major disruptions to train services in Sweden. In April 2010, the Swedish Transport Administration initiated an inquiry intended to show how great the delays were that affected passenger and goods services, how great a cost to society they entailed, what caused the delays,…

Strengthening Sweden’s development through investments in very high-speed rail

20 September 2010 | By Sören Belin, Coordinator, Future Rail Sweden

Sweden is one of the European countries where railway has played an important role during the last two decades. Increasing railway traffic, more passengers and more freight transport is the result of improved quality and general awareness of the benefits of the railway. With more people commuting and more freight…

SJ – from Public Authority to Limited Liability Company

20 September 2010 | By Elisabeth Lindgren, Vice President Corporate Communications, SJ AB

It is difficult to pinpoint the event that was the most important in SJ’s 150-year history. Was it when the government took over all of the country’s private railways in 1939? Was it when the infrastructure maintenance division was spun off in 1988? Was it the introduction of the X2000…

Successful renovation of Arlanda Express

17 September 2010 | By Per Thorstenson, President, Arlanda Express & CEO, A-Train AB

Arlanda Express, the Swedish airport train between Arlanda Airport and central Stockholm, is rebuilding its trains to meet future requirements for environmentally friendly travel. It has been possible to increase the number of seats onboard by 20%, while at the same time providing even greater comfort than previously using modern…

ASTOC continues to help shape Sweden’s future transport policy

17 September 2010 | By Gunnar Alexandersson, Senior Policy Adviser, 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…

Measuring and modelling safety risk on GB’s mainline railways

17 September 2010 | By Ben Gilmartin, Senior Safety Risk Analyst, Safety Knowledge and Planning, Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB)

The mainline railway in Great Britain has a responsibility to understand and measure safety risk to be able to manage safety of its operations properly. However, the task of quantifying levels of safety meaningfully can be difficult, especially for those rare accidents with potential for serious consequences. RSSB’s Safety Risk…

SMART – the future for Northern California rail

17 September 2010 | By Lillian Hames, General Manager, SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit) and Chris Coursey, Public Information Officer, SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit)

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a commuter rail and parallel bicycle-pedestrian pathway project located in San Francisco’s North Bay area. SMART will provide a rail service along 70 miles of the historic Northwestern Pacific Railroad alignment. Utilising the publicly owned railroad right of way, the project will serve 14…

Risk-based method to determine inspections and inspection frequency

17 September 2010 | By Johan van der Werf, Senior Consultant, Lloyd’s Register Rail Europe BV

Extending inspection periods can result in a lower level of safety, but based on insight from using a mathematical model it is possible to use improvements to the rolling stock to create more efficient inspection schedules while maintaining the same level of safety.