Issue 2 2009

The railway system in Germany

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

To be able to appreciate which functions the Federal Railway Authority (EBA) fulfils, it is worth taking a cursory glance at the German railway market first. Ranking high within Europe, its hallmark is the vast array of organisations.

The public railway network in Germany covers some 38,000km of route, a good 20,000km of which are electrified by Germany’s standard 15 kV and 16 2/3 Hz current system. This route network is looked after by approximately 160 public infrastructure operators, just under 33,000km of the network being operated by DB Netz AG.

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Tagged with: Gerald Hörster, Germany, Regulation, Safety

Maintenance workshops are key driver for rail success

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

Arriva Deutschland has an increasingly visible presence on the German rail network with trains travelling millions of kilometres per year and moving tens of thousands of people each day. The unseen driving force behind this success is Arriva’s network of rail workshops which ensures our fleets are ready for service every day.

Getting more than 210 trains into service and making sure they are maintained and ready to meet the daily needs of a busy timetable is a challenge which we, like many other rail operators, have to face.

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Tagged with: Arriva Deutschland GmbH, David Coco, Germany, Rolling stock maintenance

Implementation of the ÖBB Maintenance Plan according to international standards

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

The Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI) relating to the infrastructure subsystem of the trans-European high-speed rail system, requires that every infrastructure manager draws up a Maintenance Plan. This must set out the necessary inspections, the frequency, the qualification of staff, the measuring methods and the necessary action to be taken. At Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) the Maintenance Plan went into force in 2007.

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Tagged with: Interoperability, Manfred Datler, Michael Wogowitsch, ÖBB, Rail infrastructure, Werner Hanreich

UIC support development on European corridors in Central Europe

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

In 1992, the UIC initiated the ETCS project. An EU Transport Conference held in Essen in 1993 and a document published by the Danish transport EU commissioner, was the starting point for considerations on supporting corridors in Central Europe. Mr. Poul Frøsig, the ETCS Project Manager, identified in the Danish press information on an EU conference held in Essen and afterwards via the EU Essen conclusions with the possibility to obtain an EU financial support for early implementations of cross border projects.

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Tagged with: Croatia, ERTMS, ETCS, GSM-R, Ibrahim Muftic, Poul Frøsig, Rail infrastructure, UIC

Complete renewal of Danish railway signalling

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

In January 2009, the Danish parliament decided to fund a €3.2 billion replacement programme of renewing all Danish railway signalling before 2021. The programme is unique in its approach of focusing on economies of scale and creating a competitive market situation to ensure the best possible price and quality. The programme also introduces a step change in technology which maximises the possibilities and benefits of re-signalling the Danish railway network.

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Tagged with: Banedanmark, Denmark, ERTMS, ETCS, GSM-R, Morten Søndergaard, Signalling

ERESS: The new common European standard?

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

ERESS (European Railway Energy Settlement System) reduces railway energy consumption by up to 15%, strengthening both the environmental profile and competitiveness of the railways. In this article, you can learn more about the system that could become a common European standard.

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Tagged with: Denmark, ERESS, Interoperability, Jernbaneverket, Johnny Brevik, Norway, Sweden

Today’s challenges for the railways in Germany

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

100 years ago, railways in Germany had no serious competition. Their share of the freight transport market was 70%. Not until the 1930′s was there a change, brought about by the rise in road transport. Due to technological progress and by being more flexible and customer focused, road haulage was able to rapidly gain market shares.

The cumbersome and complex bureaucratic machinery of the railways was hardly able to reverse the progress, quite the contrary: The railways kept losing market shares and piling up debts. In order to bring these trends to a stop and preserve the railways as an economically and ecologically meaningful mode of transport, the German Bundestag adopted the reform of the railways in 1994.

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Tagged with: ETCS, Funding, Germany, Rail infrastructure, Wolfgang Tiefensee

Investing in rolling stock for future performance

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

Train operating companies obviously need reliable and robust rolling stock in order to provide efficient and effective services to their passengers. This is of course an obvious fact to point out, but an imperative issue nonetheless.

Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) needs no introduction in this German Profile issue of European Railway Review, but the company has made many recent orders for new rolling stock and I think it is important to take this opportunity to highlight the important investments that the company is making to ensure their passenger services are first class.

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Tagged with: Bombardier Transportation, Craig Waters, Deutsche Bahn, Germany, ICE, Rolling stock, Siemens

DB Netze weathers the economic crisis

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

Substantial sums are being spent on upgrading the German rail network. The German government has long held plans to introduce private capital into the holding of Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG). This part privatisation has been postponed on account of the world economic crisis, but DB has been reorganised to make it easy to do so when conditions are more favourable.

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Tagged with: DB Bahn, DB Netze, DB Schenker, Germany, John Gough, Rail infrastructure

Iberian Rail Development 2009 – Successfully linking the Iberian region to the rest of Europe

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

On 17 and 18 February 2009, European Railway Review organised the first ever Iberian Rail Development conference, held at the Lisbon Marriott Hotel, Portugal.

Attracting over 200 delegates, the conference was specifically developed to invite all industry personnel concerned with the ongoing developments for railway infrastructure and rolling stock in the Iberian region, and the links it has to the rest of Europe.

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Tagged with: Conferences & events, Craig Waters, Portugal, Spain

Securing wagon investments offer diverse freight operations

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

CFL cargo is a new player in the market of rail freight, created on 17 October 2006 when the cargo division of the national railway company of Luxembourg, CFL, merged with the internal rail division of the Luxembourg mills of ArcelorMittal, the world leader of the steel industry. This background enables the new company to benefit from both shareholders’ in-depth expertise in railroad operations, client-oriented distribution and safety.

The objective of CFL cargo is to offer a customer-oriented pan-European door-to-door service, while creating shareholder value as well as adhering to high social, safety and environmental standards.

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Tagged with: CFL, Gaston Zens, Luxembourg, Rail freight, Rolling stock

Bombardier – worldwide experience in high-speed

Issue 2 2009 / 26 March 2009 /

Jürgen Jakob covers the history of Bomardier in the field of high-speed rail, from the first railway vehicle to reach 210lm/h to the present day.

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Tagged with: Bombardier Transportation, Heiko Mannsbarth, High-speed rail, Jürgen Jakob, Rolling stock