US Agency to develop key Ukrainian freight line to Poland
The United States is getting involved in integrating Ukraine into European railways. According to Ukrainian Railways (UZ), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will help develop the line connecting Lviv to Mostyska, on...Read more
MEP wants to take power from IMs with regulation amendments
The Regulation on the Use of Railway Infrastructure Capacity, part of the Greening Freight Package, is currently under revision. Tilly Metz, Member of the European Parliament, recently presented 172 amendments, most of which focus on...Read more
UK Rail Reform Bill delayed by … late running reform bills
In an announcement to everyone awaiting the arrival of the Rail Reform Bill, the UK Government apologises for the late arrival of their service. This is due to the late running of several other preceding...Read more
European Vehicle Register: upgrade or bust?
analysisThe rail industry in Europe is asking to make the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) the registration entity in the context of the European Vehicle Register (EVR), a European database where wagon keepers can...Read more
German top court ruling leaves rail budget with a multi-billion euro gap
Rail budget 2024At the end of last week, the German Constitutional Court ruled that the German government’s climate policy funding mechanisms are unconstitutional. This practically means that the federal government will not be able to use capital...Read more
Why a collective track access charging approach matters
The disparity noticed on the track access charges (TAC) applied by different EU member states is a problem when it comes to utilising them strategically in achieving modal shift goals. A collective European charging approach,...Read more
‘If the rail sector still supports its own TTR project, it should let the legislators know’
File: Greening Freight Package The CountEmissionsEU regulation does not need to be binding because other legislations will assist in reaching its objectives. Additionally, digitalisation will be the primary tool deployed in determining which combined transport services are eligible for...Read more
Switzerland rolls out new ERTMS plan
The Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT) updated the country’s strategy for the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). The new programme focusses on implementing cab-signalling with European Train Control System (ETCS)...Read more
‘Weights and Dimensions Directive ensures intermodal compatibility’
File: Greening Freight Package With the EU Commission’s proposal for the revision of the Combined Transport Directive (CTD), the Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP) is now complete and ready to undergo the needed procedures before becoming official. The GFTP...Read more
CER: ‘CT Directive needs to reduce bureaucratic procedures for State aid’
File: Greening Freight Package The revision proposal for the Combined Transport Directive (CTD), part of the Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP), was recently announced by the European Commission (EC). According to the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies...Read more
CT Directive revision: ‘Not a panacea, but work in progress’
File: Greening Freight Package The EU Commission has unveiled its combined transport Directive revision proposal, closing the cycle it opened in July when publishing the proposals of the Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP). The sentiment following the announcement is...Read more
(When) will paperless freight transport be a reality in the EU?
analysisOne of the next steps for the rail freight industry is to become fully digitised and digitalised. A key step towards digitisation would be a strong switch to paperless documents, which currently are used in...Read more
ERFA: ‘significant work is still needed on the Greening Freight Package’
File: Greening Freight Package The European Rail Freight Association (ERFA) recently published two position papers on the Directives included in the Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP). One concerns the Weight and Dimension Directive (WDD), for which ERFA claimed that...Read more
Germany extends use of long trucks: what are the risks for rail?
The German Ministry of Transport presented a draft regulation to extend the possibility of using Type 1 long trucks, (up to 17.88 metres in total length), until 2026. The policy was set to expire at...Read moreCombined Transport: some notes in view of the Directive’s revision
File: Greening Freight Package EU legislators are moving closer to publishing the revised Combined Transport Directive (CTD). It is a matter of a few days before it becomes public, and the industry awaits to see what changes it could...Read more
The ERTMS dilemma: ‘some locomotives might not run up to 2026’
One of the hottest debates in the European rail freight sector is the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and its signalling and control component, the European Train Control System (ETCS). Alberto...Read more
EIB invests almost one billion euros in Czechia to improve railways
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will loan 992 million euros to the Czech Ministry of Finance “in support of a major railway upgrade”. This is the largest loan from the EIB to the Czech Republic.Read more
German Parliament approves key legislations to prioritise rail projects
The German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) approved a new package of legislations aimed at boosting the rail sector in the country, making its implementation official. The package includes the greenlighting of the ‘road funds rail’ scheme...Read more
EC sues Spain over failed implementation of SERA directives
The European Commission (EC) stated it will bring Spain in front of the EU Court of Justice because the country failed “to correctly transpose and apply Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a single European railway area (SERA)”....Read more