James Abbott - Articles and news items

Alpine stream of rolling stock orders

Issue 2 2005, Past issues / 31 May 2005 /

Switzerland and Austria are investing heavily in new locomotives for trans-Alpine freight work, along with regional trains for local passenger networks.

Switzerland’s railways have benefited in past years from a pro-rail political consensus that has allowed heavy investment in the network. The latest fruit of this policy was the opening of the Mattstetten-Rothrist cut-off line in December last year, which allowed implementation of the Bahn 2000 timetable with its standard-interval pattern and enhanced end-to-end journey times. Work is proceeding on the Simplon and Gotthard base tunnels under the Alps, which will boost capacity on these routes.

Rail patronage in the country reflects the excellent standard of service that steady investment has made possible. The average Swiss citizen makes 40 train journeys each year, more than any other country in Europe (the figure for the next in the league, Denmark, is 28).

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Rolling stock market pauses in Germany

Issue 1 2005, Past issues / 2 March 2005 /

As the flotation of DB is debated, spending has been cut back at Germany’s state rail operator. Germany, the biggest market for rolling stock manufacturers in Europe, is drawing a breath. After massive investment in the past 15 years in the high speed network and big spending on the train fleet in the former East Germany to bring it up to the standards in the west, procurement is being scaled back.

Like all state-owned enterprises, DB (German Rail) is having to play its part in Germany’s efforts to keep within the spending restrictions imposed by the European Economic & Monetary Union. In addition, efforts are being made by DB to improve its balance sheet with a view to possible stock market flotation in a couple of years’ time.

All this has meant spending cutbacks at the biggest customer for new trains in Europe.

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