International Railway Journal
SERVICES on Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line - the busiest commuter rail line in the United States – have been severely disrupted following the severing of a traction power cable on September 25.
MRT Jakarta has awarded the final civil works contracts for the Indonesian capital's first metro line allowing construction to start next month.
BRITAIN's Department for Transport (DfT) has invited bids for the first two passenger rail franchises since the cancellation of the West Coast franchise in October 2012 following the discovery of flaws in the DfT's bid evaluation process.
TEST running started today on the first metro line to be built in the northern Chinese city of Harbin, where temperatures can plunge to -38oC.
SIR David Higgins, CEO of Network Rail, says he wants to look at how he can accelerate the construction of the £50bn (HS2) project...
www.progressiverailroading.com US News
British rail operator National Express wins regional rail contracts in Germany
UK-based transport company National Express has signed a €1.6bn deal to operate two regional train services in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
India may allow 100% FDI in railway sector
India may open up the railway industry to foreign direct investment (FDI) under a new proposal intended to bring relief to the cash-strapped Indian Railways, according to The Economic Times.
Newcastle Light Rail project in NSW moves ahead
The Newcastle Light Rail project in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has moved a step forward as the government awarded local firm GHD a contract for early scoping studies for the scheme.
DB International wins contract for first high-speed rail link in Saudi Arabia
DB International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of German railway company Deutsche Bahn, has secured a contract from Saudi Arabia's state-owned Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) to supervise the construction of a 450km, double track high-speed rail link for the Al Haramain project.
CER - The Voice of European Railways
Press Release
Brussels, 26 September 2013
‘Force majeure’: Court decision widens the gap between transport modes
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Today’s decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union concludes that railways may not be exonerated from liability for train delays in case of ‘force majeure’. While the railways understand this judgment as aiming at a high level of consumer protection, they question the proportionality of this decision since other transport modes are not obliged to pay compensation for delays in case of extraordinary circumstances. This new scenario clearly violates the principle of a level playing field between transport modes. The Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT) call therefore upon EU decision-makers to ensure a more harmonised and consistent application of the principle of ‘force majeure’ across transport modes.
The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) confirmed today the opinion delivered by Advocate General Niilo Jääskinen on 14 March 2013 in the case ÖBB vs Austrian National Enforcement Body (C-509/11) which concluded that railway undertakings may not be exonerated from their liability for delays. Concretely, this means that rail passengers are entitled to financial compensation for a delay of more than 60 minutes even if the delay is due to a case of ‘force majeure’, e.g. in case of severe weather conditions causing railway line closure.
According to the ECJ, Regulation 1371/2007 on Rail Passenger Rights contains no cause of exoneration for delays, unlike for the aviation, maritime and coach sectors. If decision-makers had the intention to limit the right to compensation for delay on grounds of ‘force majeure’, they would have indicated this clearly in the Regulation, the ECJ said.
CER and CIT note that the European Commission had already submitted written comments to the ECJ to clarify that the rules actually establish a limit to railways’ liability in case of ‘force majeure’. The annex of Regulation 1371/2007 refers in fact to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF)[1], which states that ‘force majeure’ is a ground for limiting the liability of railways in case of delays. This is also a general principle of contract law – nobody is expected to be liable for ‘force majeure’.
CER and CIT therefore call on the European Commission to ensure that railways compete with other transport modes on a level playing field, including in the area of passenger rights. In this regards, CER and CIT welcome the recently published report[2] on the implementation of Regulation 1371/2007, where the Commission confirmed its intention to consider aligning the obligations among the different transport modes by asserting that railways are not obliged to pay compensation in the cases of ‘force majeure’.
CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said “We will definitely analyse the ECJ ruling in detail; in any case we can already state that the ECJ judgment provides a strong argument for what CER has been saying about for a long time: there is an urgent need to ensure a regulatory level playing field among transport modes, including in the area of passenger rights”.
“We will support our members with the implementation of the ruling and make sure that international passengers benefit from their rights as confirmed by the ECJ. However we must be aware that this may have an impact on fares” stated CIT Secretary General Cesare Brand.
[1] COM(2013) 587 final
GOV.UK
Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern 2013: invitation to tender. The invitation to tender documentation for the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise.   
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