International & UK Railway News Friday 21st June 2013

 

 

 

International Railway Journal

 

THE Romanian government has announced that it has chosen Romanian open-access operator Grup Feroviar Român (GFR) as the preferred bidder for a 51% stake in national railfreight operator CFR Marfă.

 

ARRIVA has been selected by the municipal government of The Hague to operate a direct open-access service between the Dutch city and Brussels from December 2015.

 

THE Bulgarian Privatisation and Post-Privatisation Control Agency (PPCA) announced on June 20 that it has decided to cancel the privatisation of Bulgarian State Railways' (BDZ) freight unit BDZ Tovarni Prevozi, which has been delayed by a freeze on assets sought by a creditor.

 

PUBLIC Transport Victoria (PTV) has awarded Alstom a contract worth around $A 121.5m ($US 111.8m) to supply eight additional six-car X'Trapolis emus for the Melbourne suburban network.

 

 

www.progressiverailroading.com US News

 

 

N.Y. Senate approves Prendergast as MTA's top exec

'Interrelated challenges' cloud PTC implementation by 2015's end, GAO says

AAR week 24 traffic data: U.S. roads registered gains

Chicago Transit Authority to analyze future of Blue Line's West Side branch

Johnson to succeed McFarlane as head of CP's U.S. operations

L.A. officials latch Metro rail gates to mark 'new era' of regional transportation

Rail Link garners two safety awards from state of Wyoming

Rail supplier news from Tutor Perini, Pacer, J.L. Patterson, AREMA and Michael Baker (June 21)

 

 

www.railway-technology.com Updates..

 

Carillion to start Cumbernauld-Glasgow line electrification project in Scotland
Carillion is set to start work on the £40m electrification of the 50km Cumbernauld - Glasgow Queen Street line in Scotland on 23 June. 

       

Vossloh España to deliver seven tram trains to SYPTE in UK
Vossloh España has secured a £60m order from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) to deliver seven tram trains for operations between Sheffield City Centre and Rotherham Parkgate in the UK. 
       
Ansaldo secures ERTMS signalling system contracts in Algeria and France
Ansaldo STS, a unit of Finmeccanica Group, has secured a €40m contract in Algeria and a €13m contract in France to install ERTMS signalling systems. 
       
Bombardier to deliver 450 electric locomotives to Deutsche Bahn
Canadian rail manufacturer Bombardier Transportation has signed a framework agreement worth up to €1.5bn with Deutsche Bahn (DB) to supply electric locomotives.

 

 

 

 

 

UK House of Commons Transport Select Committee

 

Transport Committee - Fifth Special Report

The European Commission's 4th Railway Package: Government Response to the Committee's Twelfth Report of Session 2012-13

 

 

 

Government response

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Key Points.........( Full report HERE)

 

Introduction The Government welcomes the Transport Select Committee's report on The European Commission's 4th Railway Package. The Fourth Railway package is a major EU legislative proposal with three directives and three regulations. The UK has one of the most liberalised rail networks in the EU. That is why the Government supports the approach for further market opening in the domestic EU public passenger transport markets. However, we want to ensure that the proposals implemented as part of the Package are flexible enough to work within the UK public passenger transport structure, and are compatible with our plans for rail reform. The proposals that have been put forward will be the subject of considerable negotiation in the months to come. The Government is still in the process of considering the detail and implications, but has identified a number of areas where the proposals will need to be carefully considered in terms of possible UK impact. We will continue to engage with the European Commission, the European Parliament and other Member States to ensure our concerns are addressed in the final texts. In the following paragraphs we set out the Committee's recommendations and the Department for Transport's response to them.  Independence of infrastructure managers

Recommendation 1: We recommend that, in negotiations on the 4th Railway Package, the UK should seek to ensure that:

Alliances and other forms of joint working between Network Rail and train operators are not prohibited or unduly restricted by EU legislation;

It is clear that metro and light rail networks are exempt from the requirement to separate infrastructure and service operators;

 

Any formal pan-European network of infrastructure managers adds value to existing informal arrangements.

 

We also recommend that the Government explain its position on the governance arrangements for the Channel Tunnel, including whether it intends to bring those arrangements into line with EU legislation. (Paragraph 19)

 

Public service contracts

 

Recommendation 2: We recommend that, in negotiations on the 4th Railway Package, the UK should seek to ensure that:  The definition of "competent authority", the body which can let contracts for passenger services, should not require a strict (and unrealistic) differentiation between local authorities covering urban and rural areas.

The maximum annual threshold for rail public service contracts should not be as great as one third of a national network by volume, as most EU countries would be able to comply with the legislation by letting just one or three franchises. We suggest that a threshold of one fifth of a national network by train-km would be more effective in opening up EU markets without directly affecting the UK.

 

We are not persuaded that the legislation should include requirements for authorities letting contracts for passenger services to issue public transport plans. Detailed matters of this sort should be left to national and local government to decide. We recommend that the Government seek to have this aspect of the Package withdrawn. (Paragraph 27)

 

Interoperability

 

Recommendation 3: We support the Commission's long term aim of establishing more consistent and efficient approval processes throughout Europe but question how the proposed measures will work in practice, given the considerable variation in technical standards between different member states. The Government must ensure that the Package at least maintains safety standard in the UK, particularly in environments with specific risk factors such as the Channel Tunnel. We also recommend that the Government seek to ensure that:

• any new processes facilitate and streamline approval mechanisms for rolling stock and infrastructure rather than add an additional layer of bureaucracy; and
• there is clarity about which agency, whether at national or EU level, has responsibility for specific areas of work. (Paragraph 36)

Other barriers

Recommendation 4:
It is disappointing that this new tranche of EU railway legislation does not tackle some of the biggest problems with cross-border rail, including incomplete implementation of previous legislation and the regulation of track access charges. (Paragraph 45)

Recommendation 5:
Border control issues are another major limiting factor for growth in cross border rail travel. If a solution is not found to speed up the safety and immigration controls for cross border passenger and freight services, operators will remain sceptical about the potential to extend international rail services. (Paragraph 45)

Conclusions

Recommendation 6: We recommend that the Government actively negotiate on these issues and keep us up to date with developments during the negotiations on the Package, particularly in relation to the areas we have recommended the Government should prioritise. (Paragraph 50)





Other News.

Shedmaster Railway News

BDZ freight privatisation called off  - Railway Gazette

Soto del Rey to join Madrid suburban network - Railway Gazette

Arriva selected to operate Den Haag - Brussels inter-city service - Railway Gazette


World Heritage & Railway News

A spittoon fit for a royal saloon.(NRM)

Advance On-line Booking Discounts. | North Yorkshire Moors Railway :: A steam train adventure through the stunning Yorkshire Moors

2013 Diesel Running Dates « West Somerset Railway

News | The East Lancashire Railway

Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway

 

Railway Engineering News

 

Freight trains: Coming round the bend

economist.com - ONLY esoteric trainspotters pay much attention to freight locomotives. By comparison with passenger trains, they generate few furious letters to local newspapers. .......

 

                                          Railway Track at Kidderminster......