Dutch Kijfhoek meets safety standards after row of accidents
Rail infrastructure at Dutch classification yard Kijfhoek meets 94.6 per cent of the standards. This conclusion was drawn by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), based on investigations carried out this year. ILT’s supervision...Read more
From today: one-stop shop ERA for authorisations and certificates
From 16 June 2019 onwards, the EU Agency for Railways (ERA) takes responsibility for vehicle authorisation, safety certification, and ERTMS trackside approval. This marks the beginning of a new era of single and simplified authorisation...Read more
Heads of EU infrastructure discuss rail freight future
On 13 June in Bern, chief executives from rail infrastructure companies discussed measures for improving the operational environment of railway undertakings. There was a special focus on increasing the rail freight modal share to 30...Read more
European railways comply with ‘user pays’ and ‘polluter pays’ principles
European railways comply with the principles of ‘user pays’ and ‘polluter pays’, better than any other motorised transport mode. This is a key insight from the European Commission’s new study on transport cost internalisation. It...Read more
Belgium launches customs tool to speed up e-commerce transport
The Belgium Customs and Excise Department has launched BE-GATE, a customs platform to simplify the import and export of goods. The portal, which was specially designed for the growth market of e-commerce, serves to accelerate...Read more
Updates on more accurate ETA figures? Come to Munich
Two European initiatives for the development of the rail freight sector – CESAR and the ELETA – will be hosting a joint event at the Transport Logistic Exhibition, that will be held in Munich next...Read more
TEN-T development should start with 6,000km section
FERRMED has presented the European Parliament a revised plan to develop the EU core network. Rather than optimising 80,000 kilometre of key railway lines by 2030, it has defined a network of 6,000 kilometre. According...Read more
EU action plan to secure safe transport semitrailer on pocketwagon
An EU-wide action plan has been launched to avoid accidents involving semi-trailers transported on pocket wagons by rail. These semi-trailers may not be sufficiently secured against movement, the National Investigation Body (NIB) of Denmark concluded....Read more
Scotland sets aside 25 million to boost rail freight industry
The Scottish government has announced to dedicate 25 million British pounds (28.8 million Euros) of ring-fenced funds to the rail freight industry. This is supposed to support the sector for the next five years. This...Read more
Croatia will construct new railway to port of Rijeka
Croatian rail infrastructure manager HŽ Infrastruktura plans to construct a new, shorter railway from Karlovac to the country’s largest port of Rijeka. The project is estimated at 1.7 billion Euros. The new mainline will be...Read more
UNIFE calls for European platform on rail digitalisation
The Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) considers digitalisation inevitable for the rail sector development. To support and facilitate the process, the European Commission should establish a coordinated approach towards digital technologies, prepare a...Read more
A decade further and still the same obstacles
The Rail Freight Forward initiative and European legislative framework could offer lessons to help railways and decision-makers around the world achieve the climate change targets agreed at the recent COP24 summit in Katowice, believes Jürgen...Read more
The Netherlands and Germany to test cross-border self-driving trains
The Netherlands and Germany are going to work together to create more attractive conditions for cross-border rail freight transport. Dutch State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven (Infrastructure and Water) and her German colleague State Secretary Enak...Read more