One of the recurring themes of Railtex 2017 was the ‘digital railway’, which emphasises using historical data and analytics to unlock a wide range of benefits ranging from predictive maintenance to driver advisory systems. Dan Templeton reports from Birmingham.
AN alliance has been formed in Brussels which brings together open-access operators in the passenger and freight sectors with the aim of collectively addressing issues affecting non-incumbent rail companies.
REGIONS of France, an association of regional authorities, held its first hearings on April 6 to gauge the potential for the introduction of competition in the provision of regional rail services, although this is not expected to start until 2024.
IN a major policy reform initiative, India’s cabinet approved a proposal on April 5 to establish an independent rail regulator, which will be responsible for setting Indian Railways’ (IR) freight and passenger tariffs and ensuring a level playing field for stakeholders and investors.
THE German rail industry achieved a 5.2% increase in exports in 2016 to €6.1bn taking exports to 52% of total sales of €11.8bn. However, domestic sales fell by 12% to €5.7bn compared with 2015.
THE German federal government is preparing draft legislation proposing the establishment of an independent rail accident investigation body.
SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) has launched a new strategy which aims to combine its existing strengths with new technology to enable it to increase capacity, offer door-to-door journeys, and develop digital stations and smart freight wagons.
FRENCH road and rail regulator Arafer announced on February 8 that it has rejected SNCF Network’s proposed tariff structure for track access charges from 2018, arguing the new arrangements fail to meet regulatory requirements and ignore commitments to pricing reform given by the infrastructure manager two years ago.
BRITAIN’s Railway Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has unveiled its Capability Delivery Plan (CDP) for the British network, which is described as the “blueprint for the age of the digital train.”
THE European Parliament (EP) voted to adopt the market pillar of the Fourth Railway Package at a plenary session in Strasbourg on December 14 in the final stage of a legislative process which is intended to open Europe’s railway sector to greater competition.