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Latest issue / 6 December 2011 /
Over the coming weeks and months, EU policy-makers will lock horns in earnest over new rules to ensure fair and open competition in the European rail market, both freight and passenger. On economic grounds alone it is critical that the right rules are in place but it is equally important from an environmental standpoint.
The EU is pursuing ambitious reductions in CO2 and the right conditions for growth in international rail travel could encourage many more people to choose the train over less carbon efficient options such as the car or plane.
Transport accounts for almost a quarter of total EU greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is the only sector where emissions continue to rise – an increase of 36% since 1990. If Europe is serious about reversing this trend and meeting its global environmental commitments, it needs to get its transport pricing and infrastructure investment policy right. (more…)
Latest issue / 6 December 2011 /
On 8 September 2011, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) inaugurated the first part of the eastern branch of the Rhine-Rhône high-speed line. Included in the design and construction of this line, with its major socio-economic challenges, was a series of innovative environmental measures to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Rhine-Rhône HSL: the project
A European dimension
The Rhine-Rhône HSL will further strengthen France’s position in a Europe that is gradually expanding towards the East. Financial support from Switzerland and EU ‘priority link’ status, under the Trans-European Transport Network programme, both underline its recognised importance at community level.
Looking at the map of the present and future European network of high-speed lines, the strategic position of the Rhine-Rhône line is immediately apparent, as a major feeder at the core of mainland Europe and as a link between the different European territories. (more…)
Latest issue / 6 December 2011 /
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 perform cover the full spectrum of rail vehicles including urban transport (tramways and light-rail vehicles), commuter rail (both electrical and diesel multiple units), long distance and high-speed as well as locomotives and freight wagons. These tests are performed in specialised test benches at our facilities as well as while running on track depending on the nature of the need.
Our growth in recent years has followed the tendency on the railway sector for more testing in all projects worldwide. The increase in complexity and quantity of testing required grows as service level demands increase: more reliable systems and vehicles, higher speeds, better comfort, improved energy efficiency, increased safety levels etc. Also, testing needs grow as we move into the implementation of the common European regulations and all projects are required to undergo tests to check for compliance with common norms and limits. (more…)
Issue 5 2011 / 22 September 2011 /
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 and a higher service level with a focus on the business traveller. Travelling with the X2000 became associated with a high ‘coolness’ factor and a certain status.
Market situation
The total market for rail traffic in Sweden and Scandinavia continues to increase whilst it is also moving into a new competitive context due to deregulation. Since October 2010, there is full open access for any operator to the Swedish market.
Now SJ’s ambition is to respond to market demands and future competition to find a successor to the X2000. A new high-speed train capable of travelling at 250km/h on existing tracks is needed. SJ’s vision is that the new trains should change the way of travelling in the same way that made the X2000 concept so successful when it was introduced in the 1990s. (more…)
Issue 5 2011 / 22 September 2011 /
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 to construct and maintain new public infrastructures.
The PEI envisages the application of Public Private Collaboration (PPC) to promote cooperation between public administrations and the private sector for the development and modernisation of infrastructures and public services of strategic interest. In this sense it is noteworthy that approximately 70% of investments will be allocated to railways to enhance suburban railway networks as well as freight transportation. (more…)
Issue 4 2011 / 4 August 2011 /
My last contribution to European Railway Review was back in Issue 4 2008, when I was interviewed about the then current status and view of high-speed operations in Italy. Since then Italy has changed a great deal where infrastructure is concerned.
The Italian High-Speed/High-Capacity (HS/HC) network
Today, Italy is a more modern and better connected country. The completion of the Turin–Milan–Rome–Naples–Salerno High- Speed/High-Capacity network in 2009 triggered a far-reaching revolution in the national transport sector and gave a strong boost to the economic, cultural and social life of the country, taking Italy to the highest European levels. With its 1,000km of dedicated tracks, the HS/HC network is the most important infrastructure to be built in Italy since the end of the Second World War, and has made it possible to make the railway benefit not only customers wishing to travel more quickly for work or leisure, but also for commuter and goods traffic. (more…)
Issue 2 2011 / 6 April 2011 /
When the worldwide and European Union transportation policies of the last 30-years are analysed, it will be observed that some radical changes have taken place elevating railways to a prioritised position so that the share of railways in the transportation sector increases and a balance between the transportation modes is acquired. In this respect, some effective measures have been taken oriented towards improving the shares of passenger railways and freight transportation to render it competitive with other transportation modes.
Within this framework, some fundamental changes were made to the transportation policies of Turkey and a significant amount of resources was allocated to make railways the ‘priority’ sector. (more…)
Issue 6 2010 / 10 December 2010 /
The South Europe Atlantic high-speed line project (SEA LGV) is being built as the first railroad concession model in France. Under this model, industrial and financial partners will be responsible for building and operating the 300km-long high-speed line between Tours and Bordeaux. The contracts covering the financing of the project are scheduled to be finalised by the end of 2010. (more…)
Issue 5 2010 / 20 September 2010 /
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 on the national rail system, the capacity has reached its limits. The ongoing discussion in Sweden is now not about the need for further investments in railway infrastructure, it is rather where, when and how. (more…)
Issue 5 2010 / 20 September 2010 /
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 trains in the early 1990s or the start of online ticket sales in 1997? No one can really determine which event or which decade affected SJ most, but even the most recent one has been tumultuous for SJ. (more…)
Issue 5 2010 / 17 September 2010 /
The Madrid–Castilla La Mancha–Comunidad Valenciana-Región de Murcia high-speed line is one of the greatest works in Spanish and the world’s civil engineering history, both for its length – 955km – and for the new technologies applied in its construction.
This line, in which €12.4 million have been invested, is one of the most important high-speed corridors in the Iberian Peninsula. The eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula is also known as the Levante region. Its route begins in the Madrid Puerta de Atocha station. It shares 29km with the currently operative Madrid–Seville/Málaga line, which is being split to achieve independent accesses for both lines. (more…)
Issue 5 2010 / 17 September 2010 /
1 June 2009 marks the day, exactly 12 months after the international Public-Private Partnership (PPP) tender for the Poceirão–Caia high-speed rail line (HSRL) was launched, when best and final offers were in and the procedure which would lead to a successful financial close on 8 May 2010 was initiated. (more…)
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