THE European Commission (EC) has authorised an Austrian government scheme to subsidise railfreight operations for five years from December.

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has today given its final vote of approval to the recast of the First Railway Package, which will include provisions for strengthening national regulators, improving the framework for infrastructure investment, and ensuring fair access to the network.

THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) has launched formal antitrust proceedings against German Rail (DB) and its subsidairy DB Energy, following accusations by private operators of anticompetitive pricing of traction power.

Advances in GPS technology mean it is now possible to track wagons in real-time, offering benefits for customers, operators, and fleet managers. Colin Gerrish, CEO of PJ Measurement Technologies UK, and Günter Petschnig, CEO of PJ Messetechnik, Austria, outline the monitoring capabilities of the new Waggontracker system.