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Rail Articles

OV SAAL project: Working on improving accessibility in the Netherlands

13 February 2015 | By Christian Caan, Koen Ingels, ProRail and Kitty I'Abee, OV SAAL

The OV SAAL project in the Netherlands aims to expand the railway system around Schiphol, Amsterdam, Almere and Lelystad, but not without serious challenges with respect to technique and accessibility. Christiaan Caan and Koen Ingels both Managers from construction alliances on behalf of ProRail, and OV SAAL’s Senior Communications Consultant,…

Foreword by Wilma Mansveld: Improving before expanding

13 February 2015 | By Wilma Mansveld, State Secretary of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands

Every day, more than one million people in the Netherlands – out of a population of almost 17 million – rely on trains and railroads to get to work and back home again. This is no small feat considering the complexity of the country’s railway system and the length of…

Noise & Vibrations: Noise-Differentiated Track Access Charges

3 December 2014 | By Libor Lochman, Ethem Pekin and Enno Wiebe, CER

Railways have an almost negligible impact on climate and environment compared to other modes of transport. The only remaining environmental challenge for the European rail sector is noise – a side effect of railway operation. For Global Railway Review, Libor Lochman, Executive Director of The Community of European Railway and…

The migration path towards ERTMS in Portugal

3 December 2014 | By Jose P. Neves, REFER Telecom and Fernando Vendas, REFER Engineering

Interoperability has become a key word in the European transport policy, with the aim of improving transport services. The application/renewal of signalling and telecommunication systems in the Portuguese railway network will follow this legal requirement and migrate to the new European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). Jose P. Neves from…

The French railway reform and other European policy matters

3 December 2014 | By Jean-Pierre Audoux, FIF

2014 may not have run its full course quite yet, but it has already been marked in France by the adoption of the French railway system reform in early-August, therefore heralding the advent of a new public-sector organisation englobing SNCF and the infrastructure manager set-up in 1997, RFF (Réseau ferré…

Developing and evolving RTPI strategies in an era of cost-cutting

3 December 2014 | By David Whitley, London Midland

Keeping people informed is one of the simplest ways to reduce complaints, increase satisfaction and gain a reputation for good customer service, writes David Whitley – Head of Regional Services at London Midland. It’s all part of thinking like a passenger, and arguably more important than operational performance itself: a…

High-speed rail: Helping to shape the railways of tomorrow in Britain

3 December 2014 | By Jim Steer, Greengauge 21

In January 2006, when Greengauge 211 was launched, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) in the UK was incomplete, and there was no expectation that it would be followed by further high-speed lines. For Global Railway Review, Jim Steer – Director of Greengauge 21 – the not-for-profit organisation established to…