List view / Grid view
28 January 2010 | By Branimir Jerneić, President, HŽ Infrastruktura Management Board
Like in the case of all European railways recently, the global recession found its reflection in freight transport volumes, which in 2009 decreased by 24% in comparison with 2008. Passenger transport increased by 4%, but its increase is much smaller than those recorded in recent years, when passenger transport was…
28 January 2010 | By Michaël Steenbergen, Academic Researcher in the field of Railway Engineering, Delft University of Technology
Current design philosophies of railway tracks are based on the conception of a railway system as a statically loaded system. This is directly translated into two classical principles: load spreading and stiffness reduction in downward direction. A ‘layered’ track design results in order to transfer the enormous wheel-rail contact stresses…
12 December 2009 | By Dave Curtis, General Manager, Freightliner Maintenance Ltd (FML)
The decision by UK's Freightliner Group to set up its own maintenance division has yielded transformational improvements to business performance. Maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock is a core necessity to any successful rail operator - one that is not at the forefront of attention, but when it is not…
12 December 2009 | By Craig Waters, Commissioning Editor
If a railway network is in need of track renewal, it is vitally important that the procedures are carried out to the best possible standards. Network downtime needs to be kept to an absolute minimum and it is therefore essential for infrastructure owners to invest heavily in high-tech track renewal…
12 December 2009 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor
One of the biggest public transport projects in the world has started in London. Crossrail will provide welcome work at a time when other parts of the construction sector are experiencing a downturn. London is the poor relation amongst European cities when it comes to cross-city suburban rail links. While…
12 December 2009 | By Dirk Diederich, General Manager for Project Business, Rhomberg Bahntechnik GmbH
The North Access Section to the Brenner Tunnel is particularly important to rail transport within Europe as part of the TEN 1 - Axis Berlin-Palermo in a north-south direction and as the main east-west traffic artery in the junction with the Lower Inn rail link. Security, in particular, is a…
12 December 2009 | By Jean-Pierre Audoux, Director General, French Railway Industry Association (FIF)
The environment of the French Railway Industry Association (FIF) members today has become much more complex than it was in the 80s and 90s, because France, like every European country, is currently in a long-term transition phase of its railway system. The end of the 90s marked the transition towards…
12 December 2009 | By Sebastien Gourgouillat, Head of Sustainability and Performance, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF)
Enhancing and developing the national rail network to promote rail transport in line with the principles of sustainable development, is the objective set out in the opening lines of the Act establishing Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) in 1997.
26 September 2009 | By Per Thorstenson, President of Arlanda Express and CEO of A-Train AB
Arlanda Express, the Swedish high-speed train between Arlanda Airport and Stockholm City, reported its best financial results ever for 2008. The company is now investing in refurbishing its trains to increase capacity for seated passengers by at least 20%.
26 September 2009 | By Per Rydberg, Project Manager for the Hallandsås Ridge tunnel, Banverket
Construction of a tunnel through the Hallandsås Ridge in southwest Sweden has given rise to many emotions over the years and the project has suffered several setbacks. Yet because of, or perhaps thanks to, its history, the tunnel is now one of Sweden's most well-planned construction projects. Today, the project…
26 September 2009 | By Claes Broström, Vice President of Fleet Management, Swedish Railways, SJ AB
SJ has been on quite a journey following its conversion to a limited-liability company. In 2002, SJ was an inefficient company on the verge of bankruptcy. Since then, the company has undergone tremendous change and is now market-focused. SJ has identified various customer groups and their needs and then developed…
26 September 2009 | By Claes Ulveryd, Fleet Manager, Skånetrafiken
Approximately seven years ago, Skånetrafiken began thinking of renewal and completion of its Pågatågen rolling stock. Pågatågen is the name of the regional train service in Skåne - the southernmost county of Sweden. The service is presently performed with 26 X11 EMUs, an ASEA/ABB/ADTranz/Bombardier construction from the 70s, which has…
26 September 2009 | By Santiago Cobo Diego, Director of the Madrid-Levante High-Speed Line, Adif
A double track of UIC European gage designed for maximum speeds of 350km/h will soon link the centre of Spain with the Mediterranean Sea and the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The total length of the line is 940km - with a forecasted investment of €12.365 million - and will…
26 September 2009 | By Fernando Ribeiro Vendas, Head of Signalling and Telecommunications, Engineering Department, RAVE
The de-grouping from the value chain which underlies the proposed business model for the high-speed network (HSN) project in Portugal led to a single international public tender request in the form of a PPP (public-private partnership), under the name of ‘HSN Signalling and Telecommunication Concession (HSN S&T Concession)'. The aim…
26 September 2009 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor
In July the British government announced a major programme of railway electrification, taking in the Great Western main line from London to Bristol and Swansea. To many Continental European readers, it must seem astonishing that such an important artery on the British rail network is still diesel worked.
