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Infrabel tests new infrastructure for the Liefkenshoek Rail Link

18 September 2014 | By Luc Vansteenkiste – Director-General of Asset Management at Infrabel

Infrabel – the Belgian rail infrastructure manager – has been fully-engaged in testing the rail infrastructure for the Liefkenshoek Rail Link since spring 2014. Of critical importance in this are the ETCS and safety tests for the purpose of obtaining permission to officially open this new freight link in the…

Portuguese rail network developments: Challenges and opportunities

18 September 2014 | By António Viana – Director of Strategy and Network Development at REFER

Portugal was affected by the international economic and financial crisis, like the majority of European countries, which determined the request for external help in 2011 and materialised with the Economic and Financial Assistance’s Programme. This context involved a change of strategy regarding public investment in transport infrastructures which became effective…

ARA – building a brighter future for rail in the Australasian region

18 September 2014 | By Bryan Nye, Chief Executive Officer, Australasian Railway Association (ARA)

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) is the peak body representing 170 passenger, freight, track operators and the wider rail supply industry in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia, explains Bryan Nye – the Association’s Chief Executive Officer. Our fundamental purpose is to create an environment that will permit the Australasian rail…

Australia’s biggest public transport project is underway

18 September 2014 | By Gladys Berejiklian – Minister for Transport in the Government of New South Wales, Australia

Australia’s first fully-automated rapid transit rail system – the AU$8.3 billion North West Rail Link is a new direction for rail services – not just for Sydney, but for the entire country. Gladys Berejiklian – Minister for Transport in the Government of New South Wales, Australia, provides more details about…

Investing in the railway system is worthwhile

5 August 2014 | By Doris Bures, the Austrian Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology

The railway system has a tremendous future – if we want to have an economically and environmentally sustainable transport system available to support the ever-increasing mobility of people and goods, then we need to actively promote environmentally-friendly modes of transport, such as the railway system, explains Doris Bures, the Austrian…

Accelerating infrastructure expansion in Austria

5 August 2014 | By Franz Bauer, Director of Infrastructure Provision and Member of the Executive Board at ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG

ÖBB – Austria’s leading railway enterprise – has for some years now been focussing on accelerating expansion of the infrastructure and has pushed investment to a record level. The result brings high-performance rail corridors with excellent connections to the neighbouring EU States, reduced journey times and modern stations which make…

The Brenner Base Tunnel – A railway line for the future

5 August 2014 | By Konrad Bergmeister, CEO at BBT SE

The construction of the 64km-long Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT) is in full swing. After the completion of three construction lots in Italy and Austria with an investment of €550 million, the next construction lots are on the way. Konrad Bergmeister, CEO at BBT SE – the company tasked with construction…

SwissRapide Express®: Switzerland’s next generation of passenger transport

5 August 2014 | By Niklaus König – President and CEO of SwissRapide AG

Today, intercity travellers in Switzerland are faced with crowded trains on a daily basis, regular delays causing missed connections as well as traffic jams on the country’s main motorways – valuable time which is lost when commuting, particularly between the cities of Berne and Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva, as well…

CEVA: Connecting Switzerland and France

5 August 2014 | By Antoine Da Trindade, Managing Director for CEVA

CEVA is the acronym for the 16km-long Cornavin–Eaux-Vives–Annemasse rail link project connecting Switzerland and France. It is a project stepped in history which dates back as long ago as 1850. Following many false starts, political disagreements, citizen complaints and objections which went all the way to the Swiss Federal Administrative…

Flooding in Serbia causes catastrophic railway infrastructure damage

5 August 2014 | By Global Railway Review

Due to the catastrophic floods which hit Serbia in late-May 2014, the country’s railway infrastructure suffered huge damages estimated to be in the region of millions of Euros – the consequences of this devastating act of nature on Serbian railway lines will remain for an extended period of time...

Getting ready for the first rail tendering project in Finland

5 August 2014 | By Kimmo Sinisalo, Project Manager for Rail Tendering at HSL

HSL – the Helsinki Region Transport Authority – will start the opening of the Finnish passenger rail market by tendering the contract for local trains starting in 2018. Kimmo Sinisalo – Project Manager for Rail Tendering at HSL – provides more details...