Posted 5 hours ago by Railpage System User
Regional operator BLS is contesting the plans announced in April by the Federal Office for Transport (BAV) for the 10-year concession to run long-distance passenger services from December 2019. Under the proposals national operator SBB would run all Intercity routes and most of the so-called Basic Network, but the regional express routes from Bern to Biel and Bern to Burgdorf and Olten would be operated by BLS.
BLS responded on May 23, the last day of consultation, by stating that the proposal to operate just two routes was not viable. It welcomed the principle of opening up the long-distance market and suggested that competition would lead to a better overall service, but insisted that its plan to run five routes was a single package and that operating the Bern – Biel and Bern – Olten routes alone would not be economic. It therefore called for its proposal to be retained to run Intercity services from Basel to Interlaken Ost and Brig, the RegioExpress route from Bern to Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds as well as the Bern – Biel and Bern – Olten routes.
Earlier, at a consultation hearing on May 4, SBB had responded to BAV’s concession plans, proposals for adjustments to the structure of track access charges and other changes. It said that splitting operation of the long-distance network and making changes to the current complex but integrated public transport service would not benefit passengers and could potentially open the door to competition from large European railways to the detriment of small Swiss operators.
SBB warned that it would object to BLS being awarded part of the long-distance concession but said that it was open to discussions with both BAV and BLS. It suggested that other railways could be involved in co-operation agreements such as that envisaged with regional operator SOB, which from 2020 will run services over the historic Gotthard main line and between Chur and Bern via Zürich jointly with SBB.
The Federal Office for Transport is due to rule in mid-June on the final arrangements for the long-distance concession.
Posted 15 hours ago by Railpage System User
Celebrations on May 24 marked the formal completion of the Beskyd tunnel construction project, enabling the first revenue-earning trains to pass through it the following day.
Posted yesterday by Railpage System User
As in most other regions, trucks reign supreme on freight transport across the Western Balkans, a region that encompasses six countries including: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
Posted 2 days ago by Railpage System User
Irreparable damage caused to the Friesen Bridge over the River Ems when it was hit by a freight ship in in December 2015 has disrupted the EU-backed Wunderline project’s ambitions to boost traffic on the regional railway corridor running east from Groningen in the northern Netherlands to Leer, Oldenburg and Bremen in northwest Germany.
Posted 2 days ago by Railpage System User
Work to build the automated MegaHub intermodal terminal at Lehrte, about 20 km east of Hannover, was formally launched on May 15. Speaking at a midday ceremony, Parliamentary Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry for Transport & Digital Infrastructure Enak Ferlemann said that the start of work for the Lehrte MegaHub was ‘an important milestone’, noting that ‘intermodal transport is essential to switch traffic to rail and waterways’.
Posted 3 days ago by Railpage System User
The European Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Spain saying it has failed to correctly transpose Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a single European railway area.
Posted 3 days ago by Railpage System User
Sicily regional President Sebastiano Musumeci and Trenitalia CEO Orazio Iacono signed an operating contract on May 17. This is the first operating agreement since the transfer of responsibility for rail transport to the region.
Posted 3 days ago by Railpage System User
Suburban operator SKM Warszawa signed a contract with Pesa on May 21 for the supply of up to 21 Elf2 electric multiple-units.
Posted 4 days ago by Railpage System User
Škoda Transportation Group signed an agreement to purchase the remaining shares in Transtech on May 21. With the purchase of the 25% stake from Sinituote Oy, Škoda becomes the 100% owner of the Finnish rolling stock manufacturer.
Posted 5 days ago by newsbot
It's one of the great pleasures of life in Switzerland – sitting with a glass of (overpriced) wine in the restaurant car of a train and watching the spectacular scenery roll by.
Posted 5 days ago by newsbot
Four trains between the capitals are cancelled on Friday, while passengers in northern England face strikes next week
Posted 6 days ago by bevans
The city is launching a study to explore the possibility of going fully fare-free.
Posted one week ago by Railpage System User
On May 17 the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion requesting that Germany fully comply with Directive 2004/49/EC. This requires EU member states to establish an independent safety authority, an independent accident investigation body and coherently allocate safety responsibilities.
Posted one week ago by Railpage System User
British students offered free Interrail pass in EU pilot scheme.
Posted one week ago by bevans
Work on the most complicated section of a rail connection between central Prague and the city’s Václav Havel Airport can go ahead after the withdrawal of a petition against it lodged with the Office for the Protection of Competition, iDnes.cz reported on Thursday. However, it will still be several years before such a link is in place.
Posted one week ago by Railpage System User
The first of eight Bombardier Transportation Traxx multi-system electric locomotives ordered by open access operator RegioJet in April 2017 entered service on May 16.
Posted one week ago by Railpage System User
For the first time since the 1960s, Hamburg’s Hochbahn is building a new depot for its U-Bahn system. The urban rail network in this north German harbour city is growing – and that makes greater capacity for fleet stabling and maintenance essential.
The most recent ridership figures show a 2.5% rise, to 455 million a year, and the current ‘big ticket’ projects are the five-stop line U5, as well as a one-stop extension of U4.
Posted one week ago by Railpage System User
National freight operator Srbija Kargo has successfully completed negotiations with Siemens for the purchase of eight multi-system electric locomotives, CEO Dušan Garibović said on May 15.
Posted one week ago by newsbot
Commuters were left stranded after a fire on the railway track north of Stockholm.
Posted one week ago by Railpage System User
Zillertalbahn operator ZVB announced on May 15 that it had selected Stadler to supply five hydrogen fuelled multiple-units for its 760 mm gauge line.
Posted one week ago by Railpage System User
Vossloh AG shareholders approved a proposed dividend distribution of €1 per share at the annual general meeting held in Düsseldorf on May 9.
Posted one week ago by bevans
French rail chiefs reported 50 different acts of malicious sabotage on train lines on Monday with authorities fearing strikers will increasingly take matters into their own hands to keep up the pressure on the government.
Posted one week ago by bevans
Danish state rail operator DSB was the victim of an unprecedented DDoS cyber attack, the company confirmed on Monday.
Posted one week ago by bevans
Swiss Rail has dropped plans to install Wi-Fi in its trains, according to the newspaper Le Matin.
Posted one week ago by bevans
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU), along with its partners, have agreed to support and enhance rail connectivity in Albania.
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