This month the French government will publish its draft proposals to restructure French railways with the expectation that a fully-fledged infrastructure manager will emerge. Rather than waiting for legislation to come into force in 2015, French National Railways (SNCF) has already started working more closely with French Rail Network (RFF), as SNCF president Mr Guillaume Pepy revealed in an exclusive interview with David Briginshaw in Paris.
A tri-national railway congress has recently been held in Basle for the first time, with the aim of redefining this Swiss border city's future role as a railway hub. Anitra Green examines the prospects for development.
EUROTUNNEL announced on May 30 that it is to launch a financial support scheme for railfreight operators in an effort to boost cross-Channel volumes, which have declined significantly from their peak of 3.1 million tonnes in 1998.
TWO weeks after it rejected all three bids in the part-privatisation of state-owned railfreight operator CFR Marfă, the Romanian Ministry of Transport announced on May 28 that the tendering process will resume with the aim of selecting a winner by June 20.
KIRUNA Wagon, Sweden, has secured its first export order with the signing of a contract on May 23 for 40 bogie hoppers for Norwegian mining company Raner Gruber.
THE Swiss Federal Council has approved a scheme to create and finance a project which will allow 4m corner-height semitrailers to be carried on the Gotthard line.
SWEDEN's Lussavaara-Kirunava AB (LKAB) inaugurated the latest phase of its iron-ore mining operation in Kiruna, northern Sweden today, which includes a 12km, standard-gauge underground automatic railway.
PILBARA region junior miner Brockman Iron is seeking track access rights to Fortescue Metals Group's (FMG) existing rail infrastructure under the provisions of the Western Australia Railways Access Code.
SWISS intermodal operator Hupac achieved a small profit of SFr 4.4m ($US 4.5m) last year, up 65.6% on 2011, despite a drop of 7.8% in total revenues to SFr 454.5 million.
MACANDREWS, a subsidiary of shipping group CMA-CGM this week launched a new refrigerated railfreight service linking Bilbao with Murcia in the southeast of Spain.