The Railway Chronicle: International & UK Railway News Tuesday 2nd October 2013

International Railway Journal

ANSALDOBREDA has filed a lawsuit in a court in Utrecht, Netherlands, against NS Financial Services and Netherlands Railways (NS) for failing to fulfil their obligations under the contract for the 16 V250 high-speed trains ..

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has ordered 34 Coradia Liner trains from Alstom in a contract worth around €350m.

A report commissioned by the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) shows that passenger journeys increased by 2% in 2011-12 while freight traffic grew even more strongly recording an rise 8.2% in tonnage.

Railway Interchange 2013: GE Transportation unveiled several new products at this week's Railway Interchange exhibition being held in Indianapolis, Indiana..
(For more details, go to www.getransportation.com)

www.progressiverailroading.com US News

Courtesy: www.ushsr.com

www.railway-technology.com Updates..

UK to roll out improved high-speed mobile broadband on trains

BNSF to improve rail capacity in New Mexico, US

Siemens to equip Queensland's Dingo to Bluff rail line

Rajant to unveil new rail car power generator at Railway Interchange 2013

Eurostar to bid for London and Edinburgh rail route franchise

CER - The Voice of European Railways

Press Release.

Brussels, 01 October 2013

Taking rail ticket distribution to the next level: railways and ticket vendors launch the ‘Full Service Model’ initiative

Yesterday, European passenger rail operators and ticket vendors active on the European territory formally committed to a joint initiative to radically enhance rail booking opportunities: the ‘Full Service Model’ (FSM). Building on modern IT developments, this initiative will strengthen business partnerships by making it easier and cheaper for both railways and ticket vendors to provide accurate and transparent information about available rail products, for the benefit of their customers.

The signature of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by companies from both sides, respectively represented by the ticket vendors associations ETTSA and ECTAA and by the railway association CER, marked the formal kick-off of FSM. During a period of 16 months, FSM will concentrate on the functional requirements and specifications for an open, interoperable IT framework designed to be used by a wide number of applications. More choice and information for passengers and additional business opportunities for both rail operators and ticket vendors will be the main outcomes of this outstanding initiative.

This is the result of a common decision from railways and ticket vendors to join forces to enhance end-to-end journey information and make it easier to book train and intermodal journeys on a diversity of distribution channels, from operators’ websites to both ‘High Street’ and online travel agencies. This initiative will be run jointly by train operators, members of CER, and ticket vendors, members of the associations ETTSA and ECTAA. The associations will provide support to FSM in an advisory capacity.

ETTSA Secretary General Christoph Klenner said: “ETTSA and its member companies are delighted at the prospect of working with railways and travel agents on this important initiative. The Full Service Model will create an environment which makes the distribution of rail products more cost effective for rail undertakings, and lets consumers across Europe enjoy a better shopping experience delivering more choice, transparent pricing and better service.”

ECTAA President Boris Zgomba said “The travel agent community strongly supports this industry initiative. We welcome the collaborative spirit that has brought the railway undertakings and the ticket vendors, including travel agents and tour operators, at a table to work together on shaping the future of the European rail distribution.”

CER Executive Director Libor Lochman welcomed the start of this initiative: “CER supports the decision to launch the Full Service Model initiative, taken jointly by ticket vendors and railway operators. This is a crucial initiative for rail customers, who will be provided with a better shopping experience regardless of how and where they buy their tickets. FSM will take rail ticket distribution to the next level while respecting the commercial freedom of the various parties involved in the distribution process. Importantly, it also demonstrates that the rail sector is not afraid of collaborating with others on a voluntary basis in order to further improve its products and better meet passengers’ expectations.”

Christian Wolmar - Britain's leading transport commentator

(Views expressed are those of the author)

East Coast set to remain in the public sector (sort of)

There are some stories in the modern railway that you could not make up because they would be too far-fetched. The story of the PPP on the London Underground was one, but now we have another great one. Eurostar is bidding jointly for the East Coast franchise with Keolis, which normaly partners Go-Ahead.

Now of course this is the franchise that is being rushed through for privatisation because currently it is in the hated public sector, being managed by Directly Operated Railways, an arm of the Department for Transport. So Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, rather than choosing to offload some of the more troublesome franchises, which instead are being given extensions negotiated from a weak position by the Department, is rushing ahead with East Coast privatisation so that it will no longer be a successful embarrassment in the public sector.

But hold on a sec. Eurostar is currently owned 55 per cent by SNCF so that is hardly the private sector. And another 5 per cent is in the hands of the state owned Belgian railways, SNCB. That leaves the remaining 40 per cent which is owned, euh, by London & Continental Railways which sits alongside DOR as part of the Department for Transport. So not much public sector there.

As for Keolis, which calls itself France’s biggest private sector transport provider, well that is 70 per cent owned by SNCF and the rest belongs to The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a Canadian pension fund. That half of 30 per cent, therefore, is the only private sector involvement. Of course other 100 per cent state owned companies are always set to throw their hats in the ring, such as Arriva – owned by Deutsche Bahn – or Abelio – the Dutch railways outfit. And can I see RZD, the Russian railways over the horizon?

So the question for Mr McLoughlin is what are the rules for this game – when is privatisation in effect renationalisation, only to a different country? As I said at the beginning, you could not make this up. And is it not a bit strange that Richard Brown, the man you appointed to look at franchising following the West Coast fiasco, because he was impartial and not involved in the franchising process, is now involved in a bid under the rules that he helped to create? #justasking

Korea heading for same privatisation mistakes
(Published in Tribune 1st October 2013)

South Korea has an excellent railway system that has benefitted from expansion and considerable investment over the past thirty years. Usage is high, fares are low and it has had a high speed line linking the two biggest cities, Seoul and Busan, since 2004 and more sections are being built. So, inevitably, it has become a target for privatisation and fragmentation.

Korea also has a strong trade union movement which is well organised in the railway sector and therefore the elements of a major conflict are being laid out. Democracy in South Korea owes its very existence to protest and radical action by trade unions and students. In the country’s turbulent history, protests led several times to the overthrow of governments and, and ultimately, in 1987 to the creation of the present sixth republic which is largely a liberal democracy, though corruption is still rife.

As elsewhere in the world, the railways are a constant target for the promoters of liberalisation and privatisation. Three times over the past ten years, attempts to break up and privatise the railways have been abandoned following protests and strikes by railway workers. This has involved many losing their jobs, with the trade unions today still paying the livelihood of nearly 100 who have been sacked as a result of these protests with a special levy.

Now, however, the unions are preparing for the biggest of these confrontations, which may lead to an all out indefinite strike. This is the result of plans set out by the government of Park Geun-hye, which was elected in December last year, for the break up of the railways. The unions are particularly angered because during the election campaign, Ms Park had stated clearly that she was ‘against privatisation of KTX [the high speed line services which are the biggest component of rail revenue]’ and that she would ensure the national assembly would set out a long term plan for the railways.

In fact, within a few weeks of taking office in February, a plan for breaking up the railways was set out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This involves the creation of an overall holding company, rather like the German model of Deutsche Bahn, and a series of subsidiaries covering passengers, freight, rolling stock and infrastructure. There will, in fact, be two passenger sections, one covering KTX, the high speed line, and the airport link, and the rest encompassing conventional services.

This restructuring worries the unions, and with good reason. They see it as the preparation of privatisation since shares would be able to be sold in these subsidiaries. In particular, they are concerned about the split in passenger services since the high speed line, which has revenue which is three times the level of the conventional lines, could be an attractive proposition to private investors. Then profits from the high speed line services would end up in shareholders’ hands, rather than being used, as currently, to subsidise loss-making services. Consequently hiving off the high speed lines could result in multiple closures.

The Korean government has accused the railways of being inefficient and wasteful, but the unions counter this, arguing that in international terms productivity per worker is high and it is the underinvestment in the system that is the major problem. The unions are convinced that the main motivation behind the break-up and possible privatisation is to break the strength of the union.

Oddly, Korea, like Britain where privatisation has resulted in a series of failures such as Railtrack and various train operators, already has similar the experience of a privatisation that has gone wrong. Numbers travelling on the airport railway opened in 2007 between Incheon and Seoul which was built by KOTI, a private consortium, did not meet predictions and consequently the owners sought subsidy from the government. After paying subsidies for the first two years, the government then decided to buy the line because KOTI’s demands were so high. Now, oddly, the government is seeking to reprivatise it, although it is likely to end up with the same problem of requiring ongoing subsidy.

All this is so drearily and tragically familiar. The privatisation of Britain’s railways was one of the biggest scandals of the Tory governments of the 1980s and 1990s and resulted in the waste of billions of taxpayers money. Yet, countries around the world, spurred on by international organisations such as the World Bank and the European Union continue to pursue rail policies based on privatisation with the ostensible aim of reducing costs and the unstated aim of breaking up union power. Yet, fragmentation and privatisation have been shown on numerous occasions to result in less efficient railways – and ironically in the UK they have actually strengthened the unions.

Despite the evidence to the contrary, the rush to liberalise, privatise and fragment the railways continues. According to opinion polls, the Korean public is resolutely opposed to privatisation and the trade unions are strong enough to put up a fight but, if the past record is anything to go by, it is likely to be a bloody and lengthy confrontation.

Christian Wolmar travelled to Korea in August to speak at a trade union organised conference opposing privatisation.