GERMAN Rail (DB) board member for infrastructure and services Dr Volker Kefer has unveiled details of plans to spend a minimum of €28bn over the next four years on maintenance and investment in Germany's mainline rail network.
VEOLIA Transport has sent an open letter to German federal transport minister Mr Alexander Dobrindt calling for the end of discrimination against rail in the German transport market, particularly in the long-distance arena, where trains have faced an onslaught from cheaper buses since the liberalisation of the German bus market in January 2013.
THALYS, which operates high-speed services between Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne and Essen, will become an independent company on March 31 2015 for the first time since it was set up as a purely commercial entity in 1996.
A framework contract has been awarded by Pesa, Poland, to Rolls-Royce for up to 940 MTU diesel power-packs to be fitted to Link DMUs for German Rail (DB).
SPANISH national train operator Renfe and German Rail (DB) subsidiary Transfesa are facing an investigation by Spanish competition authorities following evidence of a possible collusion agreement and abuse of a dominant position by the public company, which could be detrimental to other railfreight operators.
THE German subsidiary of Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), United States, has submitted proposals to DB Networks to take over operation of motor rail services between Niebüll and Westerland on the island of Sylt, which is only connected to the German main land by rail.
DB Schenker Rail UK, the British railfreight subsidiary of German Rail (DB), has announced plans to equip 90 EMD class 66 diesel locomotives with stop-start technology following a successful trial in southwest England.
IRJ at InnoTrans 2014: GERMAN Rail (DB) announced at InnoTrans on September 24 that it has placed a further order for 26 three-car Link DMUs with Pesa as part of a framework agreement signed with the Polish supplier at InnoTrans 2012 for up to 470 sets.
Enhancement projects are underway along the Rhine corridor to upgrade rail infrastructure and terminal facilities, increasing capacity to meet the enormous growth in freight predicted at Rhine delta ports, Anitra Green reports from Germany.
New operators and new rolling stock have brought a splash of colour to Germany's liberalised regional passenger market. They have also arguably greatly improved the level of service on offer. Kevin Smith gauges the views of some of the leading public transport authorities and private concessionaires on the current condition of the market and how they see it developing.