Blog Entries

Wenzhou crash report blames design flaws and poor management

dbriginshaw — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:28:28 +0100

The long-awaited official report into the Wenzhou high-speed train crash in July 2011 cites serious design and management failings as the causes of the accident which killed 40 and injured 172. In the report, the Chinese government for the first time provides details about what happened in the hour before the crash, reports Han Qiao from China Features in Beijing.

THE report, published last month on the Chinese government's website, into the causes of the coll [...]

Wagonload must become Europe-wide to survive

dbriginshaw — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:04:50 +0100

Despite falling by 10% during the last 16 years, wagonload freight still accounts for around a third of DB Schenker Rail’s total freight traffic says Dr Alexander Vogt from the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV). But the future viability of wagonload freight depends on reducing costs, and developing a Europe-wide network.

WAGONLOAD railfreight has been affected more than block train or intermodal traffic during the last 20 years by the change [...]

Managers need to get to grips with new technology

dbriginshaw — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:59:20 +0100

IT appears that some senior railway managers are unaware that a revolution is underway in signalling, telecommunications and train control which will change the way railways and metros are operated and managed.

Whether people like it or not, the technology is here to stay, so managers need to embrace it, take charge of its implementation, and get the best out of it, rather than burying their heads in the sand, continually finding fault and complaining about the cost [...]

The red gold rush

kbarrow — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:37:57 +0100

With copper prices soaring, cable theft from railways has become more prevalent in recent years impacting the reliability of rail services all over the world. Kevin Smith examines the challenge posed to railways and the steps they are taking to tackle the problem.

FUELLED by huge demand from the construction sites of eastern Asia, the market price of copper has soared in recent years, leading the distinct and pliable metal to acquire a new name: red gol [...]

Dutch government fuses concessions to stem HSA crisis

kbarrow — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:29:23 +0100

After many months of uncertainty, the Dutch government has revealed how it intends to rescue the High Speed Alliance from bankruptcy. Quintus Vosman explains how high-speed services will be merged into the conventional network, and examines the structure of the new 10-year core network concession, which starts in 2015.

IN November, the Dutch minister of infrastructure, Mrs Melanie Schultz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus, and Netherlands Railways (NS) finally broker [...]

Australia�s �unlimited opportunities� excite operators

kbarrow — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:17:59 +0100

THE recent AusRailPlus conference and exhibition staged in Brisbane gave a fascinating insight into the current state of play and thinking in Australia which is more akin to a continent of several countries rather than one nation due to its mixture of track gauges, the different political climate in each state, the diversity of railways and types of operation, and the mixture of manufacturers.

A lot of work has already been done to address some of Australia [...]

Redefining the station as a multi-service centre

kbarrow — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:15:03 +0100

In the quest to redefine the modal interface and make rail a more accessible option for travel, French National Railways is reinventing its stations as multimodal hubs, while also ensuring they are living spaces integrated into the communities they serve. Sophie Boissard, CEO of SNCF Stations & Connections, explains the strategy to Keith Barrow.

THE transformation of major stations that were often little more than down-at-heel, uninviting points of arriv [...]

Selling Freight One: what does it mean for Russia?

kbarrow — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:07:24 +0100

Independent Transport Company (ITC) won the battle to secure a 75% minus two shares stake in Russian Railways (RZD) subsidiary Freight One on October 28. Yuri Saakyan, director of the General Institute for Natural Monopolies Research, Russia, considers the history and prospects for Russia’s largest single owner and manager of freight wagons.

OCTOBER's sale of Freight One by RZD to Independent Transport Company (ITC) is the largest transfer of rail assets into pri [...]

Harmonised fares systems are the ticket to success

kbarrow — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:01:44 +0100

The lack of integration between national booking systems can be a major obstacle to cross-border rail travel. Philip Martin, head of marketing for Amadeus Rail tells Keith Barrow why standardising distribution networks will be a crucial step towards achieving the European Commission’s targets for increasing rail’s modal share.

THE dramatic eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull last April gave rail operators in Europe a unique opportuni [...]

Railways need to get the best out of new technology

kbarrow — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:55:22 +0100

THE resurgence in rail transport that has gathered real momentum in the last few years can be attributed to several factors, but one of them has been rail’s ability to reinvent itself through the use of new technology. I would argue that rail is actually making more technological progress than the other modes of transport and on several fronts.

Rail is the only mode where real progress is being made in increasing maximum speed. In contrast, other modes are stuc [...]

Stabler moves into her �dream job� at TTCI

kbarrow — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:20:31 +0100

Lisa Stabler, who succeeded Roy Allen as president of Transportation Technology Center Inc (TTCI) on October 7, took the time at Railway Interchange in Minneapolis to talk to David Briginshaw about her plans and ambitions for the USA’s premier research and test centre.

ON the face of it, Lisa Stabler might seem an unusual choice to head TTCI, as the first 20 years of her career were spent in the automotive industry, but as soon as you look a little deep [...]

Politicians must listen to reasonable demands

kbarrow — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:00:28 +0100

RAILWAYS and politics have always been reluctant bedfellows for a variety of reasons, such as state ownership or funding, or because of regulation and legislation. But it is an unequal relationship partly because of the politicians’ ability to pass new laws and partly because railways often find it difficult to be heard or state their case forcefully enough.

Of course sometimes the arguments in favour of rail do reach the ears of the decision-makers. The huge in [...]

Can the recast deliver a more complete package?

kbarrow — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 06:49:55 +0100

Last month the European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism voted on a recast of the First Railway Package. Keith Barrow looks at how the measures might drive liberalisation forward.

IT IS NOW more than a decade since the European Commission (EC) voted
to adopt the First Railway Package (FRP), a move that aimed to clear
the way for liberalisation and ensure non-discriminatory access to the
network for anyone with a safety case and the right pa [...]

Glory campaign puts Korail on the green track

dbriginshaw — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Korail, Korea’s national rail operator, has developed an initiative to tackle environmental issues and keep up with the Korean government’s low carbon and green growth policy, reports David Briginshaw.

ACCORDING Mr Huh Joon-Young, president and CEO of Korail, train CO2 emissions in Korea are one sixth those of automobiles and one eighth of lorries. Huh is capitalising on rail's advantage over other modes by promoting it as an eco-friendly mode of t [...]

High-speed rail is a money-making venture

dbriginshaw — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:52:08 +0100

THE chairman and CEO of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC), Mr Ou Chin-Der, is to be congratulated on turning around the fortunes of Taiwan’s high-speed railway. As he explains in an exclusive interview with IRJ, it is a real achievement to go from making losses during the first four years of operation to produce sufficient profit to be able to start repaying debt in challenging trading conditions.

The 345km high-speed line was planned at a time when Tai [...]

Shockwaves spread out from Wenzhou

kbarrow — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:07:40 +0100

The fatal crash between two high-speed trains on July 23 on a viaduct near Wenzhou on the Ningbo - Xiamen line, in which 40 people died and 191 were injured, has had major repercussions for railway operations and safety in China. With the results of the investigation into the accident yet to be announced, David Briginshaw examines the chain of events that followed.

WHILE it is likely be some time before the investigation into the fatal high-speed crash at Wenz [...]

After Wenzhou, a new sense of realism dawns in China

kbarrow — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:01:17 +0100

SERIOUS railway accidents often have repercussions well beyond the immediate cause. Their rarity - reflecting the generally high standard of railway safety - usually points to some wider deficiency. This is certainly the case with the fatal crash near Wenzhou, China, on July 23. The world’s first fatal accident on a dedicated high-speed line was bound to attract attention, but it came only three weeks after the opening of the world’s longest high-speed railway, the 1318km Beijin [...]

Australians clash over the true value of rail

kbarrow — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 05:54:39 +0100

In the midst of criticism of rail’s environmental credentials from the road freight industry, the Australasian Railway Association is fighting back, as Kevin Smith discovers.

"DIRTY" and "polluting" were the words chosen by the chief executive of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) Mr Stuart St Clair in mid-August to describe Australia's ageing locomotive fleet and to discount rail's perceived environmental superiority.

Referring [...]

Crossrail looks to the future

kbarrow — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:07:59 +0100

Swiss open-access railfreight operator Crossrail is enjoying an enviable run of success as its CEO Jeroen Le Jeune explains to regional editor Anitra Green.

THE European market is not easy for Swiss-based railfreight operators at the moment. With the weakness of the euro against the Swiss franc, they are all finding their profits from international business shrinking as their costs rise.

Crossrail, however, seems to have bucked the trend, as CEO Mr Jero [...]

Will new regulator group aid Europe�s private operators?

kbarrow — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:02:59 +0100
THE formation of the Independent Regulators Group - Rail (IRG-Rail) by 15 national railway regulators should bring some comfort to the line-up of private rail operators preparing to launch open-access passenger services in Europe, often in the face of stiff opposition from incumbents, not to mention embattled open-access railfreight operators.European Union directives require member states to have independent railway regulators which can rule on disputes over access to the rail network to ensure [...]