List view / Grid view
Railways face continued growth in passenger ridership numbers and increased demand for rail freight operations. To cope, rail systems must adapt to their changing environment and provide networks that are both safe and secure.
20 September 2012 | By Lennart Klerdal, Chairman of the Board, SWERIG (the Swedish Rail Industry Group)
SWERIG, the Swedish Rail Industry Group, is often referred to as the ‘Swedish National Team of Rail Competence’. Acting on a fairly limited home market which is extremely open to competition, the Swedish rail industry has, over the years, searched for new business opportunities on the international rail market. For…
20 September 2012 | By Jan Olson, CEO, SJ AB
In the 1980s, air travel captured the market share from rail travel. This is no longer the case as since the 1990s, rail travel has gradually taken back the market share. Between 2000 and 2010, passenger kilometres in Sweden grew by more than 50%, with a particularly robust increase after…
20 September 2012 | By Libor Lochman, Executive Director, CER
Mobility is vital for the European Union’s internal market, for society, and for the quality of people’s lives. Overall, transport infrastructure investments and maintenance have a positive impact on economic growth; they create wealth, jobs, and enhance the mobility of people. Infrastructure networks form the backbone of a modern competitive…
19 September 2012 | By Enrique Verdeguer Puig, CEO, Adif
Since my appointment as CEO of Adif, one of my main strategic priorities has been to drive forward the internationalisation of Spanish railway technology and its companies, and to reinforce the ‘Spanish Brand’ on an international basis. By doing so, the international activity of Adif must be, and is, an…
Transport development is crucial and essential for the economical growth of any society or country. When looking at our congested and damaged roads, and the ever-increasing prices of petrol, it is clear that further development of road transportation is significantly restricted and, above all, extremely expensive. Air transport also has…
1 August 2012 | By Renzo Simoni, CEO, AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd
Since the second final breakthrough on 23 March 2011, fitting-out of the Gotthard Base Tunnel has made rapid progress, and since September 2011, installation of the railway systems has been taking place from the north. Elsewhere in the Ceneri Base Tunnel, work has begun on the main drives from the…
1 August 2012 | By Andreas Matthä, Speaker of the Board, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG
Increasing route utilisation, higher transport tonnages, shorter train intervals and greater speeds are, from the customers’ viewpoint, the most important characteristics of Austria’s railway network, which highlights the need for further maintenance of the lines. Since 2008, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG has placed particular emphasis on the sustainable maintenance of its infrastructure…
1 August 2012 | By
With experience from Voith Turbo, latest specifications help define Crash Energy Management systems for U.S. rail systems. The U.S. rail system has always trailed behind those in the global rail market in utilising the latest technology, but new regulations institut - ing Crash Energy Management (CEM) is accelerating them into…
1 August 2012 | By Vincenzo Soprano, Chief Executive Officer, Trenitalia SpA
The European railway industry has radically changed over recent years following the introduction of high speed networks which have revolutionised society. Italy was the first country in Europe to launch the railway market liberalisation process by opening up to competitors. In just a few years, the economy of the sector…
1 August 2012 | By Giuseppe Sciarrone, Managing Director, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori S.p.A. (NTV)
On 28 April 2012, the first passenger-filled Italo train left Naples station heading to Rome, Florence, Bologna and Milan. It was a highly emotional moment for everybody at NTV: the personnel, the partners and, of course, for me. After approximately four years of startup plans, the project finally became a…
In this supplement: Infrabel progressively increases safety at level crossings (Ann Billiau, Director-General, Rail Access, Infrabel); Portugal raises the tempo of level crossing safety initiatives (Paulo Soares de Melo, Director of Level Crossings, REFER); Level crossing misuse - not a traditional policing solution (Miles Flood, Chief Superintendent Territorial Policing, British…
27 July 2012 | By Network Rail
Almost 1km of signalling cable was stolen from the railway between Luton and Bedford overnight...
8 June 2012 | By Merja Kyllönen, Minister of Transport, Finland
2012 marks a special occasion in Finnish railway history: our railways celebrate their 150th anniversary. Scheduled train services began on 17 March 1862 between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, and ever since then, rail transport has had a huge influence on the development of our society and landscape. Over the years, a…
8 June 2012 | By Elisabeth Enger, Director General, Jernbaneverket
Since the beginning of 2012, three important reports on Norwegian railways have been issued in quick succession. First was the major high-speed study, followed by Jernbaneverket’s concept study for expansion of the InterCity network in eastern Norway. Subsequently, the central government agencies for sea, air, road and rail transport tabled…
8 June 2012 | By Kurt A. Olsen, Director, Head of Rail Department, Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN)
The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) is a Norwegian Government agency under the Ministry of Transport and Communications, responsible for investigating accidents and incidents in the transport sector. The history of the Board dates back to 1989. Earlier ad hoc investigation commissions only investigated fatal aviation accidents. At that time…
