BRITISH infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has cast doubt over plans for more open-access inter-city passenger services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), claiming there may be insufficient capacity on the London - Edinburgh route to accommodate the required eight long-distance trains per hour.

EUROPEAN Union transport ministers agreed on October 8 to allow open-access passenger operators to compete with incumbent national railways from 2020 as well as reforms to the way subsidised services are provided.

HEILBRONN-based open-access passenger operator derschnellzug.de has announced plans to launch services on three long-distance routes from December and has begun recruiting onboard staff for the operation.

AUSTRIAN open-access operator Westbahn has announced it will introduce additional Friday, Saturday and Sunday peak services between Vienna and Linz from October 2 to accommodate rising demand.

BRITAIN’s rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has approved an application by Arriva subsidiary Alliance Rail Holdings for a new open-access inter-city service from London to Blackpool North via the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

BRITAIN's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking industry feedback as part of a consultation on the potential for greater competition in the passenger rail sector.

OPEN-ACCESS high-speed operator NTV reached an agreement with Italy's rail unions on April 17 which aims to avert redundancy for 250 staff, around a quarter of the company's workforce.

IRJ and IRITS hosted the International Railway Summit 2015 in Barcelona on February 18-20, welcoming 80 delegates to the conference and parallel supplier-buyer matchmaking sessions. Keith Barrow and Kevin Smith pick out the highlights from this well-received event.

The liberalisation of Europe's long-distance passenger rail markets has seen intense competition emerging between new and established operators, but while this has helped to increase the size of the rail market, falling average fare prices have posed serious financial challenges.

MTR Corporation launched its first European open-access venture on March 21, when MTR Express began operating its initial timetable of four trains a day between Stockholm and Gothenburg.