List view / Grid view
31 May 2011 | By Mal McGreevy, General Manager – Rail Services, Translink NI Railways
Rail travel in Northern Ireland is a major success story with over 60% customer growth since 2002 exceeding government targets. Two years ago, Translink NI Railways celebrated delivering 10 million passenger journeys in a year – the highest on record in the company’s history and we are on schedule to…
31 May 2011 | By Libor Lochman, Deputy Executive Director, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER)
The legal environment of the European rail system has dramatically changed during the last two decades. The three rail packages have caused a completely new structure of the railway business and induced an introduction of a number of new actors on the European railway market. Furthermore, in order to enable…
In this paper, we will try to provide a general overview about the state-of-the-art aspects of satellite positioning systems and their usage in the railway safety assessment field, in particular in the On-Board Technological Systems (OBTS) assessment processes. Obviously CENELEC norms are applied in Italy, but the national peculiarities request…
31 May 2011 | By Vladimir Yakunin, President, Russian Railways
The restructuring of the railway, which has traditionally been a natural monopoly sector of the economy, is an important benchmark for the economic development of all European countries. Russia too is currently in the process of reforming its rail transport, in line with a government-approved programme that has now reached…
31 May 2011 | By Markus Dengler, Director of Standardisation, R&D and Innovation Management, Bogie Business Unit, Bombardier Transportation
Since the 1930s, the rolling stock industry lost its role as ‘technology and innovation driver’ which it held for a century from the 1830s to 1930s, to the aircraft and automotive industry. Today, the railway industry is perceived as a ‘technology follower’ rather than a ‘technology driver’. In addition, a…
31 May 2011 | By Dr. Raimund Abele, EURAXLES Chairman
EURAXLES is a three-year EU/industry research programme lead by UNIFE which aims to reduce the risk of axle failure to a level where it is no longer a significant threat to safe operation. The project unites 23 partners across Europe including six axle manufacturers, four railway operators/IMs, two system integrators,…
6 April 2011 | By Ashwin Kumar, Rail Passenger Director, Passenger Focus
Passenger Focus is the independent consumer watchdog which, through its National Passenger Survey (NPS), provides a network-wide picture of passenger satisfaction with Britain’s rail services. Overall, Passenger Focus’s NPS of more than 31,000 passengers reveals that overall satisfaction has been rising gradually over recent years – with 84% satisfied in…
6 April 2011 | By Michel Clement, President, Kapsch CarrierCom
GSM-R is a big area of the railway industry. Many railway operators worldwide are integrating and upgrading their systems to ensure that they are running their networks as best as possible. In an interview with Craig Waters, Editor of Global Railway Review, Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vice President of GSM-R, Michel Clement,…
6 April 2011 | By Prof. Dr. Karsten Otte, Head of Rail Regulation Department, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)
The German rail market is – due to its size of infrastructure and number of customers and its central transit position within Europe – a very interesting target for domestic and foreign train operators. Both the European legal framework and the German Railway reform programme of 1994 encouraged liberalisation of…
6 April 2011 | By Dr. Alexander Hedderich, CEO of DB Schenker Rail
Thanks to strong companies, and cooperation and joint ventures with partner railways which have matured over the years, DB Schenker Rail offers rail freight services throughout almost the whole of Europe. DB Schenker Rail comprises the three regions East, Germany/Central and West. The regions are supported by central functions such…
6 April 2011 | By Dr. Klaus Franke, Executive Board Member, AKN Eisenbahn AG
With 128 years of tradition in railway traffic, AKN Eisenbahn AG looks back on a proud history. Operating 39 double traction wagons, AKN’s service is of utmost importance to ca. 12 million passengers a year, as it opens up metropolitan Hamburg and the interior of Schleswig-Holstein to the public. AKN’s…
6 April 2011 | By Ulrich Weidmann, Professor for Transport Systems and Stephan Moll, PhD Student, Institute of Transport Planning and Systems, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Rail freight transportation in Europe is a challenging business, characterised by low margins and high fixed costs. In this context, an efficient and effective use of production resources, such as locomotives, freight wagons or engine drivers, is a fundamental requirement for the financial success of freight railways.
6 April 2011 | By Jörg Saalbach, Representative of European Affairs for the Regional Planning Authority Rhein-Neckar
The trans-European railway axis (TEN-T) no. 24, also called ‘Corridor 24’ is the major North-South freight corridor in Europe connecting the international harbours of Rotterdam and Antwerp to the Mediterranean port of Genoa. Corridor 24 covers a number of the most important economic regions in Europe. The major European North-South…
6 April 2011 | By William Powrie, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton and Tony Leyland, Project Coordinator for Track21 and Secretary of the Rail Research UK Association (RRUK-A)
Track21 is a major new research programme funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with the aim of developing the fundamental science needed to bring about a step-change improvement in the performance of the UK’s railway track system. Led by Professor William Powrie of the University of…
6 April 2011 | By
The EU co-funded INNOTRACK project has been a joint response of the major stakeholders in the rail sector – infrastructure managers (IM), railway supply industry and research bodies – to further develop a cost-effective highperformance track infrastructure by providing innovative solutions towards significant reduction of both investments and maintenance related…
