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Headlines
UK
Rail electrification project work ‘could be three years late’(The York Press)
Train contracts: Ministers criticised by MPs' committee.(BBC News)
Order for new trains could have left taxpayers ‘badly ripped off’, say MPs.(The Guardian)
www.parliament.uk
17 December 2014
The Department for Transport needs to work with the industry through the Rail Delivery Group to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of government and industry according to the Public Accounts Committee's report published on Wednesday 17 December 2014.
The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, today said:
The Department for Transport’s (the Department’s) decision to lead on two major train procurements itself, despite having no previous experience of doing so, was a significant break from its previous approach of leaving it to the rolling stock companies and train operators to buy trains. The Department has stated that it intends to leave some operational decisions to the market and to intervene in others. But it has not set out when these different approaches will apply, which is confusing for the industry. The Department’s decision to buy the trains itself has constrained the options available to future train operating companies as they will be required to use these trains to run their services.
It is open to question as to whether the negotiations with preferred bidders provided best value. It is surprising, to say the least, that Agility reduced their price by 38% after Sir Andrew Foster reviewed the issue. By buying the trains directly the Department has taken on the risk of passenger demand forecasts being wrong. If demand proves to be lower than forecast taxpayers would have to cover the costs of any financial shortfall. These two major projects also demonstrate yet again that the Department has limited capacity and capability to manage large scale procurements, and that it remains overly reliant on consultants.
Whilst we welcome Hitachi’s decision on Intercity Express to invest in the UK, it is extremely disappointing that Siemens will not also be manufacturing the Thameslink carriages in the UK, when the £2.8 billion contract is funded by the UK taxpayer and farepayer.
Siemens, in the Cross-London Trains consortium, will supply 1,140 new Thameslink carriages which are needed as part of a wider improvement programme, increasing the capacity and improving the frequency of this cross-London commuter service. The contracts will run for 27.5 and 20 years respectively. The Department awarded both contracts more than two and a half years later than intended, largely because of pauses to the procurements and the challenge of securing finance for these projects during the financial crisis. The Intercity carriages are now expected to enter service between 2016 and June 2018, and the Thameslink stock between June 2017 and 2020.
The Department’s failure to articulate its role in the rail system has caused confusion in the rail industry. The Department considers that in taking the lead it is best able to secure value for money for taxpayers in procurements of this scale, but it has not set out when it intends to use this approach, causing confusion in the industry. The Department believed that it should lead these procurements because of their scale and complexity, and the need for greater uniformity in the fleet which would bring economies of scale and other operational benefits.
It also believed that the train operating companies did not have the right incentives to buy trains which minimised maintenance costs to Network Rail. However, the Department’s role in this procurement appears to be at odds with its previous policy of transferring responsibility for procuring trains to the industry. The Department did not appear to have examined alternative ways of achieving its objectives, such as providing the train operators with the right incentives. The Department has no clearly stated rationale for the aspects of rail where it will simply set policy and strategic goals, and those where it believes it has an additional responsibility to intervene in operational decisions.
Recommendation: The Department needs to work with the industry through the Rail Delivery Group to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of government and industry, and to address weaknesses in the system including the lack of appropriate incentives to achieve a high-performing network, including good quality trains and low track maintenance costs.
The Department’s decision to purchase the trains leaves all the risk with the taxpayer. By deciding to buy the trains directly the Department has taken on the risk that if fewer new trains are needed in future taxpayers would need to cover the costs of any resulting financial shortfall. The Department’s decision to procure the trains itself and guarantee that they will be leased for defined periods has left it bearing the risk that passenger numbers may be lower than predicted. The only way the Department can mitigate this risk is to constrain the options available to future train operating companies by requiring them to use these new trains to run their services rather than having the flexibility to choose trains that best fit the services they would like to offer.
Recommendation: The Department needs to calculate the potential impact of its decision on the taxpayer and put in place plans to mitigate that impact, if demand for train services means it is not economical for train operating companies to use these trains as expected. More broadly, the Department needs to develop with the industry a rolling stock strategy, setting out what rolling stock will be replaced, when and by whom to provide certainty to the industry.
Value for money was undermined by the lack of certainty at the start of the procurement process. The Department began the procurement of Intercity Express trains without a clear idea of how many trains would be needed, which routes they would run on and what form of power would be required. The Department’s original procurement notice was for between 500 and 2,000 trains, a very wide range, and it requested bids for trains on routes which were later excluded from the procurement. In addition, the Department decided in 2009 to electrify the Great Western main line which significantly changed the requirement, as there was no longer a need for diesel trains. Its specification therefore is goldplated to handle both diesel and electrified options and this is likely to mean higher prices and higher fares.
Recommendation: The Department, working with key partners such as Network Rail, train operating companies and rail manufacturers, should develop a long-term, integrated strategy covering infrastructure, rolling stock and franchising, so that major decisions can be taken in a logical order which provides the industry with greater certainty.
The procurement process for the Intercity Express Programme was poorly managed from the outset. Agility Trains’ offer of a large unsolicited reduction at a late stage in the procurement process, when it was the only bidder for the Intercity Express programme demonstrates that the procurement process was poorly managed and that the Department’s oversight of the likely programme costs was weak. The Department selected Agility in 2009, but in 2010 the Government put the programme on hold as part of its overall spending review and commissioned a re-evaluation of the programme’s value for money, including potential alternatives. Agility then submitted a revised bid with a 38 per cent reduction in price. The Department admitted that this raised questions about whether the original tender was inflated. The Department would have needed to cancel and re-run the procurement if Agility had not reduced its bid.
Recommendation: Before starting any procurement the Department should develop its knowledge of the supply market and underlying costs to inform its procurement strategies, to determine whether bidders’ proposed prices are reasonable, and to help negotiate prices with suppliers.
We welcome Hitachi’s commitment to invest in County Durham so that trains are assembled in the North East and support is given to the UK supply chain. However, we are disappointed that Siemens will not be manufacturing the 1,140 new Thameslink carriages in the UK.
Recommendation: The Department should be more assertive in using its powers to require information on, for example, the supply chain proposals, the use of SMEs and the employment in apprenticeships to ensure that the UK economy and UK-based industry benefit from large capital public sector investment programmes.
The Department still lacks the skills needed to manage complex procurements. The Intercity Express Programme illustrates once again our concerns about the very small number of senior staff in the Department with the skill and experience to oversee large complex procurements, resulting in frequent changes to the senior officials responsible and a reliance on consultants to manage these programmes. This is evidenced by the fact that there have been 7 changes of Senior Responsible Officer for the Intercity Express Programme since November 2007. The Department recognises that it lacks the in-house commercial and project management skills that it needs to manage complex procurements and noted that it has proposals in hand to recruit more permanent staff and to develop commercial skills in new graduate recruits. However, the Department accepts that these will take time to develop.
Recommendation: The Department must develop, set out and implement a clear strategy for developing the capability needed to deliver its rail strategy and address the concerns we have raised over many years about its senior management capacity and its commercial skills.
====================================================================
Full steam ahead for heritage railway's first female apprentice (Worcester News) The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, today said:
"The Department for Transport’s decision to buy the new trains for Intercity Express and Thameslink itself has left the taxpayer bearing all the risk.Margaret Hodge was speaking as the Committee published its 24th Report of this Session which – on the basis of evidence from Philip Rutnam, Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport, Michael Hurn, Director, High Speed Rail and former SRO for both Thameslink and Intercity Express programmes, DfT and Lucy Chadwick, former SRO for Intercity Express (currently DG International, Security and Environment Group), DfT – examined Procuring new trains.
The Department has no previous experience of running a procurement of this kind, let alone two with a combined value of £10.5 billion. Yet it has chosen to break with its previous approach of leaving it to rolling stock companies and train operators to buy trains, transferring risk away from the rail industry back to government.
This means that if passenger forecasts are wrong and fewer new trains are needed in future taxpayers will have to pick up the bill.
The only way the Department can limit this risk is by requiring train operating companies to use these new trains to run their services regardless of whether they best fit the services they would like to offer.
We are concerned that the Department did not appear to have looked at whether there were better ways of achieving its objectives. For example, it could have addressed the lack of incentives that mean train operating companies do not have an interest in buying trains which minimise maintenance costs to Network Rail.
Furthermore the Department’s decision to take over the procurement has led to confusion over the respective roles and responsibilities of government and the industry which need to be clarified.
The Intercity Express Programme was poorly managed from the outset.
After Sir Andrew Foster completed a review into the value for money of Intercity Express in 2010, the original successful bidder Agility Trains came back with a revised bid that was 38% cheaper than its original one. Had it not been for the Foster review, the taxpayer could have been badly ripped off.
The Department had begun the procurement without a clear idea of how many trains would be needed, which routes they would run on and what form of power would be required. In 2009 it had to change the specification for the trains so that they could handle both diesel and electrified options, which is likely to mean higher fares for passengers.
Yet again we see that the Department has limited capacity and capability to manage large scale procurements, and that it remains overly reliant on consultants.
Whilst we welcome Hitachi’s decision on Intercity Express to invest in the UK, it is extremely disappointing that Siemens will not also be manufacturing the Thameslink carriages in the UK, when the £2.8 billion contract is funded by the UK taxpayer and farepayer. In future the Department must be much more assertive in ensuring that the UK economy benefits from large public sector capital investment programmes."
The Department for Transport’s (the Department’s) decision to lead on two major train procurements itself, despite having no previous experience of doing so, was a significant break from its previous approach of leaving it to the rolling stock companies and train operators to buy trains. The Department has stated that it intends to leave some operational decisions to the market and to intervene in others. But it has not set out when these different approaches will apply, which is confusing for the industry. The Department’s decision to buy the trains itself has constrained the options available to future train operating companies as they will be required to use these trains to run their services.
It is open to question as to whether the negotiations with preferred bidders provided best value. It is surprising, to say the least, that Agility reduced their price by 38% after Sir Andrew Foster reviewed the issue. By buying the trains directly the Department has taken on the risk of passenger demand forecasts being wrong. If demand proves to be lower than forecast taxpayers would have to cover the costs of any financial shortfall. These two major projects also demonstrate yet again that the Department has limited capacity and capability to manage large scale procurements, and that it remains overly reliant on consultants.
Whilst we welcome Hitachi’s decision on Intercity Express to invest in the UK, it is extremely disappointing that Siemens will not also be manufacturing the Thameslink carriages in the UK, when the £2.8 billion contract is funded by the UK taxpayer and farepayer.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The Department awarded two large contracts to private sector consortia to supply, finance and maintain new trains for Intercity Express and Thameslink with a combined cost of around £10.5 billion, which will be paid by train operators. The Department has opted to lead these procurements itself, rather than have rolling stock companies finance the trains and lease them to the train operators, which has been the usual model for train procurement. The 866 new carriages procured from the Hitachi-led consortium (Agility Trains) under the Intercity Express programme will replace ageing trains on the Great Western and East Coast lines.Siemens, in the Cross-London Trains consortium, will supply 1,140 new Thameslink carriages which are needed as part of a wider improvement programme, increasing the capacity and improving the frequency of this cross-London commuter service. The contracts will run for 27.5 and 20 years respectively. The Department awarded both contracts more than two and a half years later than intended, largely because of pauses to the procurements and the challenge of securing finance for these projects during the financial crisis. The Intercity carriages are now expected to enter service between 2016 and June 2018, and the Thameslink stock between June 2017 and 2020.
The Department’s failure to articulate its role in the rail system has caused confusion in the rail industry. The Department considers that in taking the lead it is best able to secure value for money for taxpayers in procurements of this scale, but it has not set out when it intends to use this approach, causing confusion in the industry. The Department believed that it should lead these procurements because of their scale and complexity, and the need for greater uniformity in the fleet which would bring economies of scale and other operational benefits.
It also believed that the train operating companies did not have the right incentives to buy trains which minimised maintenance costs to Network Rail. However, the Department’s role in this procurement appears to be at odds with its previous policy of transferring responsibility for procuring trains to the industry. The Department did not appear to have examined alternative ways of achieving its objectives, such as providing the train operators with the right incentives. The Department has no clearly stated rationale for the aspects of rail where it will simply set policy and strategic goals, and those where it believes it has an additional responsibility to intervene in operational decisions.
Recommendation: The Department needs to work with the industry through the Rail Delivery Group to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of government and industry, and to address weaknesses in the system including the lack of appropriate incentives to achieve a high-performing network, including good quality trains and low track maintenance costs.
The Department’s decision to purchase the trains leaves all the risk with the taxpayer. By deciding to buy the trains directly the Department has taken on the risk that if fewer new trains are needed in future taxpayers would need to cover the costs of any resulting financial shortfall. The Department’s decision to procure the trains itself and guarantee that they will be leased for defined periods has left it bearing the risk that passenger numbers may be lower than predicted. The only way the Department can mitigate this risk is to constrain the options available to future train operating companies by requiring them to use these new trains to run their services rather than having the flexibility to choose trains that best fit the services they would like to offer.
Recommendation: The Department needs to calculate the potential impact of its decision on the taxpayer and put in place plans to mitigate that impact, if demand for train services means it is not economical for train operating companies to use these trains as expected. More broadly, the Department needs to develop with the industry a rolling stock strategy, setting out what rolling stock will be replaced, when and by whom to provide certainty to the industry.
Value for money was undermined by the lack of certainty at the start of the procurement process. The Department began the procurement of Intercity Express trains without a clear idea of how many trains would be needed, which routes they would run on and what form of power would be required. The Department’s original procurement notice was for between 500 and 2,000 trains, a very wide range, and it requested bids for trains on routes which were later excluded from the procurement. In addition, the Department decided in 2009 to electrify the Great Western main line which significantly changed the requirement, as there was no longer a need for diesel trains. Its specification therefore is goldplated to handle both diesel and electrified options and this is likely to mean higher prices and higher fares.
Recommendation: The Department, working with key partners such as Network Rail, train operating companies and rail manufacturers, should develop a long-term, integrated strategy covering infrastructure, rolling stock and franchising, so that major decisions can be taken in a logical order which provides the industry with greater certainty.
The procurement process for the Intercity Express Programme was poorly managed from the outset. Agility Trains’ offer of a large unsolicited reduction at a late stage in the procurement process, when it was the only bidder for the Intercity Express programme demonstrates that the procurement process was poorly managed and that the Department’s oversight of the likely programme costs was weak. The Department selected Agility in 2009, but in 2010 the Government put the programme on hold as part of its overall spending review and commissioned a re-evaluation of the programme’s value for money, including potential alternatives. Agility then submitted a revised bid with a 38 per cent reduction in price. The Department admitted that this raised questions about whether the original tender was inflated. The Department would have needed to cancel and re-run the procurement if Agility had not reduced its bid.
Recommendation: Before starting any procurement the Department should develop its knowledge of the supply market and underlying costs to inform its procurement strategies, to determine whether bidders’ proposed prices are reasonable, and to help negotiate prices with suppliers.
We welcome Hitachi’s commitment to invest in County Durham so that trains are assembled in the North East and support is given to the UK supply chain. However, we are disappointed that Siemens will not be manufacturing the 1,140 new Thameslink carriages in the UK.
Recommendation: The Department should be more assertive in using its powers to require information on, for example, the supply chain proposals, the use of SMEs and the employment in apprenticeships to ensure that the UK economy and UK-based industry benefit from large capital public sector investment programmes.
The Department still lacks the skills needed to manage complex procurements. The Intercity Express Programme illustrates once again our concerns about the very small number of senior staff in the Department with the skill and experience to oversee large complex procurements, resulting in frequent changes to the senior officials responsible and a reliance on consultants to manage these programmes. This is evidenced by the fact that there have been 7 changes of Senior Responsible Officer for the Intercity Express Programme since November 2007. The Department recognises that it lacks the in-house commercial and project management skills that it needs to manage complex procurements and noted that it has proposals in hand to recruit more permanent staff and to develop commercial skills in new graduate recruits. However, the Department accepts that these will take time to develop.
Recommendation: The Department must develop, set out and implement a clear strategy for developing the capability needed to deliver its rail strategy and address the concerns we have raised over many years about its senior management capacity and its commercial skills.
====================================================================
Car stuck on tram tracks in Chorlton triggers more Metrolink misery (Manchester Evening News)
Westbury to Swindon route a huge success.(This Is Wiltshire)
Network Rail
Christmas warning for passengers planning to use the West Coast main line over the festive period
Passengers are being advised to avoid the West Coast main line and to check before they travel over the Christmas period as Network Rail continues its programme of investment and improvements.
The route will be closed between London Euston and Hemel Hempstead after the last trains on Christmas Eve until Monday 29 December. It will also be closed between Stafford and Crewe after the last trains on Christmas Eve until Sunday 28 December.
The closure between London Euston and Hemel Hempstead is necessary to bring new signalling into use which will help to provide a more resilient and reliable service. It will build on the track renewals and overhead line improvements which have already taken place.
The closure between Stafford and Crewe is part of a £250m investment to provide faster services and capacity for more trains, including building a new section of railway over the existing main line which will remove the last remaining bottleneck on the West Coast main line.
To minimise disruption Network Rail, Virgin Trains and London Midland are advising passengers to avoid the West Coast main line unless absolutely necessary and use alternative routes. Journeys made on the West Coast main line in and out of London and between the West Midlands and north west of England will be longer and are likely to involve a bus replacement service. Other routes around the country are likely to be busier as a result.
The closures will affect passengers from across parts of Scotland, north Wales, the West Midlands, north west and those travelling between Rugby, Northampton and Milton Keynes into London. Full details and alternative routes are available on the National Rail Enquires website at www.nationalrail.co.uk/christmas.
Jim Syddall, acting route managing director for Network Rail, said: “There is never a good time to carry out this type of work and we have liaised closely with the train operators to plan for it to take place at a quieter time on the railway.
“The section of track at Watford is one of the most intensively used, high-speed pieces of railway in Britain and has seen tremendous growth in traffic and passengers over the last five years.
“Norton Bridge, between Stafford and Crewe, is the last remaining bottleneck on the West Coast main line and the new flyover will help to increase capacity and allow linespeed improvements through the area.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused but the work is essential to improve the network and maintain reliable services for the millions of passengers who travel on the West Coast main line every year.”
Network Rail will continue to work with train operators to provide passengers with information in the build up to, and during, the work to minimise disruption as much as possible.
Terry Oliver, London Midland’s head of West Coast services, said: “Passengers who need to travel to London during the closure should consider taking a different route or postponing travel until a later date.
“London Midland will be running a rail-replacement bus operation to and from Stanmore on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December. However, journeys into central London will be much longer and will involve changes.
“There will be extra staff deployed at key locations along the affected route to provide customer assistance and make journeys as straightforward as possible.
“I’d like to thank our passengers for their patience and cooperation while these essential works take place.”
Phil Bearpark, Virgin Trains’ executive director for operations and projects, said: “The weekend of 27/28 of December will involve longer journeys, changes and potential overcrowding for passengers travelling to and from London on the West Coast main line.
“If it is possible for passengers to defer their travel until Monday or Tuesday, when normal services resume, we’d urge them to do that. If it is necessary to travel over that weekend, it’s really important to plan your journey and get advice from Virgin Trains to help you identify the best route.
“We have worked really hard with Network Rail over the last weeks and months to get the message out to customers about the disruption they will face over this weekend so they can plan appropriately.”
The closure between London Euston and Hemel Hempstead is necessary to bring new signalling into use which will help to provide a more resilient and reliable service. It will build on the track renewals and overhead line improvements which have already taken place.
The closure between Stafford and Crewe is part of a £250m investment to provide faster services and capacity for more trains, including building a new section of railway over the existing main line which will remove the last remaining bottleneck on the West Coast main line.
To minimise disruption Network Rail, Virgin Trains and London Midland are advising passengers to avoid the West Coast main line unless absolutely necessary and use alternative routes. Journeys made on the West Coast main line in and out of London and between the West Midlands and north west of England will be longer and are likely to involve a bus replacement service. Other routes around the country are likely to be busier as a result.
The closures will affect passengers from across parts of Scotland, north Wales, the West Midlands, north west and those travelling between Rugby, Northampton and Milton Keynes into London. Full details and alternative routes are available on the National Rail Enquires website at www.nationalrail.co.uk/christmas.
Jim Syddall, acting route managing director for Network Rail, said: “There is never a good time to carry out this type of work and we have liaised closely with the train operators to plan for it to take place at a quieter time on the railway.
“The section of track at Watford is one of the most intensively used, high-speed pieces of railway in Britain and has seen tremendous growth in traffic and passengers over the last five years.
“Norton Bridge, between Stafford and Crewe, is the last remaining bottleneck on the West Coast main line and the new flyover will help to increase capacity and allow linespeed improvements through the area.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused but the work is essential to improve the network and maintain reliable services for the millions of passengers who travel on the West Coast main line every year.”
Network Rail will continue to work with train operators to provide passengers with information in the build up to, and during, the work to minimise disruption as much as possible.
Terry Oliver, London Midland’s head of West Coast services, said: “Passengers who need to travel to London during the closure should consider taking a different route or postponing travel until a later date.
“London Midland will be running a rail-replacement bus operation to and from Stanmore on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December. However, journeys into central London will be much longer and will involve changes.
“There will be extra staff deployed at key locations along the affected route to provide customer assistance and make journeys as straightforward as possible.
“I’d like to thank our passengers for their patience and cooperation while these essential works take place.”
Phil Bearpark, Virgin Trains’ executive director for operations and projects, said: “The weekend of 27/28 of December will involve longer journeys, changes and potential overcrowding for passengers travelling to and from London on the West Coast main line.
“If it is possible for passengers to defer their travel until Monday or Tuesday, when normal services resume, we’d urge them to do that. If it is necessary to travel over that weekend, it’s really important to plan your journey and get advice from Virgin Trains to help you identify the best route.
“We have worked really hard with Network Rail over the last weeks and months to get the message out to customers about the disruption they will face over this weekend so they can plan appropriately.”
International
Africa
Railways Africa.
TRANSNET BOARD CHANGES
SOUTH AFRICAN TRACK MANAGEMENT
RED DEVIL TO SALT RIVER
TRANSNET AUCTIONS
UMGENI STEAM RAILWAY
S A-BUILT COACHES FOR ANGOLA
STD GAUGE PROJECT NOT YET BEGUN
FIVE MILLION USED NIGERIAN RAILWAY
see also
Nigerian railway modernization presses ahead despite challenges. (SmartRail World)
China
Xinjiang's high-speed rail receives 167,000 passengers in one month(Global Post)
Germany
Hungary
Malaysia
CRCC ready to bid for Malaysia's high-speed rail project(wantchinatimes)
Poland
Polish Pendolino launches 200 km/h operation (Railway Gazette International)
Russia
Traveling on the Trans-Sib. Tomsk – Kazan (Russian Railways on YouTube)
Several days later, Tony reached one of Russia's most beautiful cities: Kazan!
The fourth part of his journey is the train from Tomsk to Kazan.
The fourth part of his journey is the train from Tomsk to Kazan.
EXCLUSIVE: Russian currency crisis hastens freight slowdown (Lloyd's Loading List)
USA
U.S. board: Federal law on high-speed rail trumps state environmental lawsuits.(Fresno Bee)
Wisconsin buys Union Pacific line - Railway Gazette
www.progressiverailroading.com.
Wisconsin buys Union Pacific line - Railway Gazette
www.progressiverailroading.com.
 | |
CER - The Voice of European Railways
SAVE THE DATE
Transporting goods from Asia to the EU
What role for intermodality?
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
18:30 - 20:00
Restaurant "L'Atelier"
Rue Franklin 28 - 1000 Brussels
The EU 2011 Transport White Paper highlighted several crucial challenges that Europe will need to overcome in the coming years, including:
Intermodality is one solution to these challenges. However, new transport patterns must emerge so that larger volumes of freight can be carried to their destination by using the most efficient combination of transport modes.
This will be the focus of an event organised by CER in Brussels, on 24 February, with the kind support of the Latvian Presidency.
Further details will be provided soon. Meanwhile, we kindly ask you to save the date in your agenda.
If you already wish to register, please fill in this form before 18 February 2014.
Should you need more information on this event, please contact Agnese Danelon
(Agnese.Danelon@cer.be / +32 (0)2 213 08 66).
What role for intermodality?
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
18:30 - 20:00
Restaurant "L'Atelier"
Rue Franklin 28 - 1000 Brussels
The EU 2011 Transport White Paper highlighted several crucial challenges that Europe will need to overcome in the coming years, including:
- The need to be well connected with all regions of the world, in particular Asia
- The need to maintain the competitiveness of the European transport sector
Intermodality is one solution to these challenges. However, new transport patterns must emerge so that larger volumes of freight can be carried to their destination by using the most efficient combination of transport modes.
This will be the focus of an event organised by CER in Brussels, on 24 February, with the kind support of the Latvian Presidency.
Further details will be provided soon. Meanwhile, we kindly ask you to save the date in your agenda.
If you already wish to register, please fill in this form before 18 February 2014.
Should you need more information on this event, please contact Agnese Danelon
(Agnese.Danelon@cer.be / +32 (0)2 213 08 66).
Planning tomorrow’s smart city: Turning plans into reality Looking for guidance on how to make your city ready for the challenges of the future?
Join our international mobility community in Brussels on 22 January 2015.
ONE MONTH LEFT UNTIL THIS NOT-TO-BE-MISSED SEMINAR YET STILL TIME TO REGISTER
With the participation of 12 high-level speakers from different backgrounds, the purpose of this one-day seminar is to help you keep up with the development of your city and its mobility by > providing you with key principles on how to effectively turn your Integrated Mobility Plan into reality > exposing you to international best practices in the field of innovative city planning > discussing smart city strategy and how technology, especially ICT, can help reach a more efficient level of urban organisation
Want to know more?
Companies such as Transdev Group and Arriva Plc will be in attendance and various organisations will be represented: > Local operators and authorities such as Transport for London and STIB Brussels > Public transport authorities from Helsinki, Saudi Arabia, ... > European institutions Will you join them? REGISTER NOW HERE
The Best Of 2014:
Let's take a look back at this year's best read content on Total Rail...
As in previous years, we have compiled a directory of key suppliers and service providers to the rail industry, filled with essential contacts, products and services. You can browse it online in our web viewer*, or download it to your iPad through the Future Rail app from Newsstand.
Don't miss out on the latest issue of Future Rail, also available for the iPad through our app - or you can read your free copy in our web viewer*.
San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit system currently runs the oldest big-city fleet in the US, with much of its rolling stock having been in operation since 1972, but the network is set to enter the 21st century with 1,000 new and improved railcars rolling out over the next three years. We take a look at the Bombardier-built 'fleet of the future'. We also check in on progress of the first fully automated network in the US , a 20-mile light rail network being developed for the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu.
Meanwhile in France, SNCF reported a 74% drop in net profit for the first half of 2014, blaming disruptions caused by strikes in early summer, but business is going well abroad. We investigate how these results could affect the French operator's future investment strategy at home and abroad. We also find out how a technology known as StreetMapper has been used to map large parts of the French rail network to provide more accurate data for maintenance tasks.
As commuter services to and from London get ever more overcrowded, with some trains carrying nearly double their intended capacity, we explore potential solutions for the capital's transport crisis. And, with Network Rail having being reclassified as a public sector body and made subject to the Freedom of Information Act, we find out how the UK operator is preparing for being more transparent and open to public scrutiny in the future.
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