GERMAN Rail (DB)and private German passenger operators are establishing framework contracts with chosen suppliers ahead of future regional passenger rolling stock tenders.

THE RAILWAY industry joined forces with climate change negotiators and environmental groups on December 5 in a symbolic train journey to highlight the role rail can play in reducing carbon emissions ahead of the COP15 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

ESTONIAN Dr Simm Kallas has been named as the new European Union (EU) transport commissioner, replacing Mr Antonio Tajani. Kallas also retains his position as vice-president of the European Commission (EC).

THE opening on December 8 2009 of Belgium's north high-speed line, the nation's fifth, has established the first European border-to-border high-speed network, with passengers on the Paris - Amsterdam Thalys international service now able to complete the entire journey at high speed.

FRANCE passed a law last month to set up a legally and financially-independent rail regulator called the Regulatory Authority for Railway Activities (Araf).

Still reeling from the worst economic crisis in more than half a century, Europe's railfreight operators enter a new decade contemplating a long line of financial, political, and technical hurdles. Keith Barrow reports from Marketforce's Future of Railfreight in Europe conference in Berlin, where delegates debated the industry's most pressing issues, and how they might be tackled.

Despite the high reliability of ERTMS, the rapid roll-out of GSM-R, and the increasing number of ETCS projects – particularly outside Europe – there is still a lack of confidence in ERTMS in Europe, as David Briginshaw discovered at the UIC’s ERTMS conference in Malaga, Spain, last month.

Hartmut Mehdorn has transformed German Rail (DB) over the last decade from a struggling national railway to a successful international company ready for a stock exchange flotation. But allegations that senior DB managers spied on thousands of workers has led to his resignation, as Keith Barrow explains 

Chris Acton, director of British railway engineering and design consultancy Tritech Rail, highlights the continuing skills shortage in the industry, which he says is threatening business growth and the future development of the rail network in Britain.