The Netherlands and Belgium are neighbours yet so far in ERTMS rollout
Belgium prides itself that 52 per cent, or 3,333 kilometres, of its national railway network, is equipped with ETCS. Across the border in the Netherlands, by contrast, ‘only’ four lines are currently under ERTMS. Indeed,...Read more
Karima Delli to EU: ‘Stop the blah blah, we want results’
Karima Delli, Chairwoman of the ‘Transport’ committee of the European Parliament, presented a new joint declaration from the rail freight industry urging the EU to accelerate the modal shift to rail. Delli highlighted that if...Read more
Renfe: 122 million euros to improve rail freight in Spain
Spanish national railway company Renfe will invest 122,7 million euros for the improvement of the rail freight transportation system. The funds will be used to acquire new, greener, rolling stock and to implement new technologies...Read more
Digital 66 about to revolutionise UK East Coast freight operations
EXCLUSIVEThe first freight locomotive has entered fitting out with an advanced digital communications package, necessary for the step-change upgrade to the prestige London – Scotland main line. Rail freight operator DB Cargo UK and technology...Read more
‘ERTMS deployment is stuck in a vicious circle’
The on-board rollout of ETCS is behind schedule because operators have little incentive to invest in the system when they can still run on class-B systems, says Marcin Wojcik, Policy Officer at the European Commission...Read more
Dutch rail freight carriers outraged over lack of government support
Rail carriers in the Netherlands are not compensated for the 12 per cent increase of track access charges, nor for the cost involved with the transformation to ERTMS. State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management...Read more
‘No Green Deal without investments in rail infrastructure’
Investment in rail infrastructure and the EU-added value this creates, are extremely important if the EU wants to achieve its objectives of decarbonisation, digitalisation, and increased competitiveness. This will be the core message of the...Read more
ProRail CEO: we must seize the Year of Rail for more sustainability
The UN climate summit in Glasgow last year was moved to November 2021. This gives the rail sector the opportunity to work towards this event in the European Year of Rail. ProRail director John Voppen...Read more
Germany: 200 million state aid for interoperability
The European Commission has approved a 200 million euros scheme by the German state for the upgrade of rail vehicles in the area of Stuttgart. Financial support will take the form of direct grants to...Read more
EU’s mobility strategy: ‘rail freight traffic will double by 2050’
The European Commission announced its ‘sustainable and smart mobility strategy’ and ‘action plan’ with regards to the transformation of European transportation. Objectives concern the doubling of rail freight traffic by 2050, and the doubling of...Read more
GB Railfreight and tech startups among new HS2 contractors
Freight operator GB Railfreight (GBRf) and supplier Rail Stone Solutions (RSS) will deliver aggregates by rail to HS2’s main construction compound in the West Midlands. Here, the high-speed line consortium is building its Birmingham Curzon...Read more
Significant upgrade for East Coast Main Line
The UK government has today announced additional funding to implement real-time digital signalling on stretches of the East Coast Main Line as part of a programmed upgrade. The investment of 350 million British Pounds (388...Read more
New fibre optic connection on Dutch Betuweroute
A 135-kilometer fiber optic connection was put into operation on the Dutch Betuweroute between Rotterdam and Zevenaar last weekend. The network has more capacity than the old fiber optic connection and is now connected to...Read more
Column: Follow the Germans to be an important rail theme in 2020
In 2020, ‘Follow the Germans’ will be an important theme for the Dutch rail sector. If the Netherlands works more with Germany by harmonising the specifications of ERTMS with Germany, to convert trains to ERTMS...Read moreNo extra support for ERTMS transition in the Netherlands
Rail freight carriers in the Netherlands will not be provided with an extra subsidy to convert trains to ERTMS. Dutch secretary of state Stientje van Veldhoven said that on Thursday, in response to questions from...Read moreNew CEF facility created for funding ERTMS
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have launched the new CEF Transport Blending Facility, which is a financial instrument to support projects such as ERTMS. With an initial budget of 200 million Euros...Read more
EU Parliament votes for larger transport budget
Two committees of the EU Parliament have voted in favour of an increased budget for transport in the financing period 2021-2027. The amount comes to 37.8 billion Euros, including the amounts transferred from the Cohesion...Read more
European Parliament asks for larger budget transport infrastructure
The European Parliament has called for a significantly larger budget for transport infrastructure through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme. This is a European financing tool for railway projects such as the TEN-T corridors and the...Read moreDutch masterplan for rail freight should be kept on track
The measures proposed by the Dutch government to enhance rail freight volumes and create a level playing field with Germany have been discussed in Parliament yesterday. The sector handed in a petition two days earlier,...Read more