List view / Grid view
6 December 2011 | By Steve Murphy, Managing Director, London Overground Rail Operations Ltd (LOROL)
In the four years since the launch of London Overground the team behind the unique operator-client partnership has transformed the network into a modern, reliable metro railway that London can be proud of as it prepares to host the 2012 Olympics. Significant investment by Transport for London (TfL), the transport…
6 December 2011 | By Richard Price, Chief Executive, Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
A recently published figure by the Association of Train Operating Companies provides, I think, one of the best and most revealing snapshots of the railways today. Between 26 June and 17 September 2011, 314.3 million passenger journeys took place on Great Britain’s railways – up 5.3% from the same period…
6 December 2011 | By Dave Curtis, General Manager at Freightliner Maintenance Ltd (FML)
Freightliner Maintenance Ltd (FML) is Freightliner Group’s dedicated in-house maintenance operation. As it continues on its course of expansion, FML has reinstated an out-of-use and run-down engineering facility in York. Maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock is a core necessity to any successful rail operator. A high level of availability…
6 December 2011 | By Shaun McCarthy. Chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012
In July 2005, London was confirmed as the host city for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The bid promised “the most sustainable Games ever”. Cynics may say that a global event such as the Olympics is an inherently unsustainable thing to do; others believe it is a unique opportunity…
6 December 2011 | By Pavel Habarta, Executive Director, Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration, SŽDC
The Railway Infrastructure Administration, state organisation (SŽDC) is the infrastructure manager in the Czech Republic and, in addition to other duties is responsible for the modernisation and development of the railway network. It launched its operations on 1 January 2003 as one of two successors of the former Czech Railways…
6 December 2011 | By Xavier Gruz, Project Director for the eastern branch of the Rhine- Rhône HSL, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF)
On 8 September 2011, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) inaugurated the first part of the eastern branch of the Rhine-Rhône high-speed line. Included in the design and construction of this line, with its major socio-economic challenges, was a series of innovative environmental measures to ensure its long-term sustainability.
6 December 2011 | By Jean-Pierre Audoux, Director General, the French Railway Industry Association (FIF)
Since 2010, there has been no end to the discussions and questions about the future of the French rail system and about the future of the French rail industry in particular. The collapse in rail cargo, the constant increase in the system’s debt, the ageing of the railway network, the…
6 December 2011 | By Mayorkinos Papaelias, Scientific Coordinator, SAFERAIL and Ian Nicholson Project Coordinator, SAFERAIL
Today’s European rail networks are getting busier with trains travelling at higher speeds, and carrying more passengers and heavier axle loads, than ever before. This combination of factors is putting considerable pressure on the existing infrastructure, leading to increased demands in inspection and maintenance of rail assets.
6 December 2011 | By Igor Alonso-Portillo, Director for Strategy and Business Development, CETEST
CETEST Test and Analysis Centre is an independent accredited laboratory focusing on the testing of railway vehicles. With headquarters in the North of Spain, we are a global company serving a diversity of customers ranging from railway undertakings (operators), system integrators (vehicle manufacturers) to equipment sub suppliers. The tests we…
22 September 2011 | By Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, Minister of Infrastructure, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy & Communications, Sweden
Sweden is a vast country. The distance from Ystad in the south to Kiruna in the north is approximately 1,800km, yet Sweden only has 9.3 million inhabitants. The majority of Swedes live in the southern half of the country and the population has, for a long time, become increasingly concentrated…
22 September 2011 | By Björn Westerberg, Director of High-Speed Train Project, SJ AB
When the tilting train X2000 was introduced 21 years ago, it dramatically changed the way of travel in Sweden. Travelling by rail took substantial market shares from airlines and road traffic. The key success factors were higher speed (200km/h on existing infrastructure), point-to-point travel, significantly reduced travel time, better comfort…
22 September 2011 | By Gunnar Alexandersson, Senior Policy Advisor, The Association of Swedish Train Operating Companies (ASTOC)
The Association of Swedish Train Operating Companies (ASTOC) acts on behalf of Sweden’s train operators. It seeks to represent the interests of commercial rail traffic in its dealing with the Government and Parliament, authorities, business principals, the media and other bodies. ASTOC also assists in increasing the rail industry’s know-how…
22 September 2011 | By Lennart Klerdal, Chairman of the Board, SWERIG (Swedish Rail Industry Group)
Since the introduction of modern railways, the Swedish railway industry has been at the forefront of railway technology. Over the years, the Swedish rail industry has earned a worldwide reputation as a group of innovative and reliable suppliers. Industrial enterprises like ASEA, Ericsson and SKF were early to gain leading…
22 September 2011 | By Dirk Beckers, Executive Director, Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA)
The Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA) is an Executive Agency of the European Union which was created in 2006 by the European Commission to implement the TEN-T programme on its behalf and in particular to monitor the technical and financial implementation of all TEN-T projects. The Agency is…
22 September 2011 | By Mary Bonar, Recognised leading rail and project finance lawyer, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and Member of the Independent Transport Commission
The Rail Value for Money Study commissioned in 2010 by Britain’s then Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, and the Office of Rail Regulation, and continued by the Coalition government, Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, was published in its final form in May 2011. It is to be followed by a government White…
