Industry Focus 2008

Conquering barriers to cross borders

Industry Focus 2008 / 28 December 2008 /

Crossing borders is a rather simple action performed by millions of Europeans on a daily basis; be it for studies, business or pleasure. A substantial number of travellers rely hugely on rail to take them over the border; further North, South, East or West. Hopefully, for the peace of mind of the traveller, he or she will never know the amount of effort that goes into this ‘simple’ operation, allowing for this often seamless cross-border trip.

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Tagged with: Antoine Loraillère, Interoperability, UNIFE

Developments in railway tracks

Industry Focus 2008 / 28 December 2008 /

One of the most important developments in the last decade was the large scale application of slab track. This is in particular the case for high-speed tracks. In countries like The Netherlands, with very soft soil conditions, classical high-speed tracks could only be realised without massive soil improvements via grouting and deep mixing.

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Tagged with: Prof. Coenraad Esveld, The Netherlands, Track maintenance & engineering, TU Delft

Consultancies help out on major projects

Industry Focus 2008 / 28 December 2008 /

Consultancies are providing expertise that is helping to realise important railway projects in Europe and around the world. Britain’s first high-speed railway line – High Speed 1 – was opened by Queen Elizabeth II with much fanfare on 6 November 2007. High speed Eurostar trains now whisk passengers from the splendidly-restored station at London St Pancras to the centre of Paris in just 2hr 15min. This magnificent engineering achievement would not have been feasible without the help of some of the world’s biggest engineering consultancies. Indeed the very route of the new link, over the marshes by the river Thames and into London by an eastern approach, was the brainchild of Ove Arup – it appealed to the government as it gave an opportunity to regenerate areas by the river that have become known as Thames Gateway.

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Tagged with: Airport rail, Consultancy, Eurostar, Interoperability, James Abbott, Sweden, United Kingdom

ERTMS in 2007

Industry Focus 2008 / 28 December 2008 /

ERTMS is the European Rail Traffic Management System – a signalling and train control system promoted by the European Commission for use throughout Europe and specified for compliance with the High Speed and Conventional Interoperability Directives.

The system aims to remedy the lack of standardisation in the area of signalling and train control systems which constitutes one of the major obstacles to the development of international rail traffic. Unifying the multiple signalling systems in use will bring increased competitiveness, better inter-working of freight and passenger rail services, stimulate the European rail equipment market, reduce costs and improve the overall quality of rail transport.

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Tagged with: Dan Mandoc, ERTMS, ETCS, ETML, GSM-R, Interoperability, Olivier Lévêque, UIC