The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), represented by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Ján Kubiš, UN Deputy Secretary General, and the UIC, represented by its Director General, Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, signed a new Memorandum of Understanding on 24 May in Prague, on the sidelines of the 18th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum.

The aim of this MoU is to further strengthen the co-operation between UNECE and UIC in the pursuit of their common objective: the integration and development of the European transport of goods and passengers by railways. UNECE and UIC endeavour the development of sustainable transport and thus promote environment and health friendly transport systems to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Efficient and safe rail transport plays a particularly important role for sustainable passenger mobility and freight transport in a pan-European context.

This MoU will include the exchange of information and expertise, cross-participation at events sponsored and organized by UNECE and UIC on international legislation, technical interoperability (harmonization, standardization), trans-boundary management, management of priority corridors, accessibility, international security, and rail safety.

In addition, possible cooperation issues will be identified in the following areas:

• the modernisation of infrastructure for conventional railway and intermodal transport,
• the improvement of railway operation, organisation and management,
• the development and utilisation of databases and facilities,
• the improvement and harmonisation of railway techniques and technology.

UNECE and UIC will also strengthen their cooperation for the development of relations with the private sector and international financial institutions in order to achieve effective implementation of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) concept in the European railways and intermodal transport systems, and for the development of relations with other international organizations with a view to developing a competitive Euro-Asian Railway network.

Ján Kubiš, said: “this new MoU confirms the quality of our cooperation with the International Union of Railways. We look forward to working even more closely on the development of sustainable transport in the pan-European region.” Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director General, added “UIC is delighted to further strengthen the cooperation with UNECE and to share railway expertise, professional knowledge and experience available at UIC thanks to its members’ contributions. The current international trade flows and the ever growing environmental challenges create new perspectives and needs for efficient, safe and economically viable transport, boosting sustainable performances particularly on long-distance routes. One of UIC’s key projects is the development of the Europe-Asia corridor which perfectly aligns with UNECE’s mandate to develop trans-boundary rail transport within Europe and Europe-Asia territory.”

Following its success in New Delhi, GRFC 2010 marks its second edition of the global rail freight summit which should be the reference for rail and logistics conferences. This conference will serve as a launch pad for the exchange of best practices, networking with rail professionals from all around the world and, in addition, furnish them with the opportunity to discuss new perspectives and needs for efficient, safe and economically viable transport solutions.

The Global Conference on Rail Freight is held under the patronage of the UN (UNECE) and supported by a large number of international organisations (OTIF, OSJD, AAR, CER, EIM, CIT, UNIFE, FIATA, UIRR, BIC), featuring rail freight leaders speaking on key freight issues.

The main topics will be:

• Rail transport in the global economic and financial crisis
• “Green” logistics - new opportunities for railways
• Liberalisation of the railways - how to attract private investment?
• Railway land bridges - conditions for success
• Combined transport - the future of containers
• Wagonload shipments - flourishing in North America, surviving in Europe?
• Combined transport - the need to increase efficiency
• Rail-based global logistics - creating customer value

Speakers include:

• Vladimir Yakunin, President, RZD
• Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, General Director, UIC
• Igor Levitin, Transport Minister Russian (tbc)
• Zoltan Kazatsay, Deputy Director General, DG MOVE
• Alexey Averin, Vice President International, RZD
• Dr. Alexander Hedderich, CEO, DB Schenker Rail
• Dr. Karl-Friedrich Rausch, Board Member, DB
• Pierre Blayau, CEO, Geodis SNCF
• Ferdinand Schmidt, Member of the Executive Board, Rail Cargo Austria
• Dr. Sebastian Jürgens, Member of the Board, HHLA
• Lance Hockridge, CEO, Queensland Rail
• Askar Mamin, President, Kazakhstan Railways (tbc)
• Dr. Hans-Jörg Bertschi, Chairman, Hupac
• Ralf Charley Schultze, Rail Director, GEFCO
• Tadeusz Szozda, Chairman OSJD
• Fedor Pekhterev, Director Giprotranstei Institute (tbc)
• Hisako Tsuji, Senior Economist, ERINA
• Adrian Keller, Dep. CEO, SBB Cargo
• Jacques Koch, General Manager, Purchasing & Procurement Europe, Arcelor Mittal
• Anatoliy Sivak, Director General, Belarus Railway
• Claude Samson, CEO, Monoprix Logistics
• Martin Magold, Chief Sustainable Transport Section, UNECE
• Rudy Colle, President, UIRR

We remind you that you need 10 working days to obtain a visa and we support you the process of providing you with this document. For more information, please visit www.uic-grfc.org

On 26 May last at PKP PLK, Mr Szafranski and Mr Berdent signed an agreement, worth 43 880 euros in 2010, to train PLK staff for the preparatory stages of high speed construction, operations, rolling stock maintenance and marketing. (Source: PKP)

The idea of incorporating the rail network into that of Europe was introduced in Brussels by representatives of the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and PKP (Polish State Railways) Group. On the same occasion the Polish side presented its plans to modernise its conventional railway lines.

The Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Juliusz Engelhardt, came to Brussels on 1 June to hold talks with the representatives of the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament to present their plans on high speed rail construction in Poland. Polish Railways was represented by, among others, the President of PKP S.A. (Polish State Railways) Management Board, Andrzej Wach, as well as the President of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. (PKP PLK S.A. - Polish Railway Lines) Management Board, Zbigniew Szafrański. The key part of the visit was a high level debate organised at the European Parliament by PKP PLK S.A. and strongly backed by MEPs Bogdan Marcinkiewicz and Artur Zasada. Both Marcinkiewicz and Zasada are members of the EP TRAN Committee.

“Every year the Polish government increases its expenditure on upgrading railway infrastructure”, Under-Secretary of State, Juliusz Engelhardt, said. “However, after a 20-year standstill in the investment process it’s not only about the reconstruction of railway lines. We also need to form a market of reliable, competent contractors capable of carrying out serious projects”.

According to the President of PKP S.A., Andrzej Wach: “The planned high speed rail construction in Poland is in accordance with already existing transport routes. Already upgraded conventional lines are complementary with the designed high speed network. The importance of high speed lines and their accessibility for passengers will significantly surpass that of the four main centres located on the first scheduled high speed route from Warsaw to Wroclaw and Poznan via Lodz. Construction of high speed rail in Poland will significantly change public attitude towards railways as a means of transport and issues of time use. High speed lines mean modern technologies and bringing the largest Polish urban complexes closer together. It also represents the whole series of indirect investment undertakings that stem from this investment project”.

Poland’s current railway infrastructure requires a long-term consistent policy of maintaining high expenditure on its modernisation, President of PKP PLK S.A. Management Board, Zbigniew Szafrański, remarked. “It’s only 37% of railways lines, whose quality we can consider as proper. Moreover, it’s less than 20% of the lines’ overall length on which speeds of 120-160 hm/h are possible. The railway system in Poland requires not only an intense modernisation of existing infrastructure but also the construction of new connections”, President Szafrański added.

As the national Polish infrastructure manager, PKP PLK S.A. carries out investment projects within the scope of upgrading railway lines and with the use of EU funds: Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment as well as Regional Operational Programmes. These programmes, and the expected funds that come under them, do not cover the essential needs that need to be fulfilled in order to increase the technical parameters of the whole railway network in Poland. Taking into consideration regional conditions, the process of modernisation of part of the lines can be more effective if carried out in the form of renewals. Such tasks are performed with the use of state budget funds.

The programmes developed by PKP PLK S.A. are coherent with existing high speed lines in Europe or those which are planned to be constructed. The emergence of high speed lines will increase capacity for conventional passenger and freight transport. Considering the increase in goods exchange between the EU and both the Eastern European and Asian countries, it is particularly crucial to gain additional capacity on the E20, East-West railway line. Furthermore, the upgrading of the E65 CMK railway line will facilitate transport on the North-South axis and as far south as neighbouring Czech Republic and Slovakia.

This training session is a unique opportunity to get an accurate and comprehensive overview of the high speed system. During this session experienced specialists from around the world (Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Spain, USA, etc.) will speak about the latest developments in infrastructure, rolling stock, funding, and commercial and design issues, etc.

For former participants the session also provides an opportunity to share knowledge and exchange experience in a dedicated learning environment. For many years now this event has been a week of fruitful learning about high speed systems.

The session is open to anyone involved in railways, high speed railways, consultants, ministries, decisions makers, etc., or to people interested in high speed rail.

There is still time to apply through our web site: http://www.uic.org/highspeed /

Or email: cabo@uic.org / Tel. +33 1 44 49 20 41

More than 800 decision-makers from 52 member countries of the International Transport Forum debated last week in Leipzig, Germany, under the Canadian Presidency, the role of innovation in global transport by attending the successful 2010 edition dedicated to “Transport and Innovation: Unleashing the potential!” "Transport must seek new ways, and get better at its old ways, if it wants to overcome its dependency on oil and provide greener, safer, more efficient and more accessible mobility for all" said Jack Short, ITF Secretary General of the International Transport Forum.

Among the issues debated, participants discussed “Public Sector Leadership: New ideas Innovative Public Policy”, “Interconnected and Integrated: Optimising Intelligent Infrastructure”, “Supply Chains: Green and Efficient?”," The Wireless Revolution in Transport" or “Is the Future Electric?”

Further keynotes were delivered by Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission, Amar Bhidé, Harvard University, Ian Goldin, Oxford University, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, CEO, Lufthansa, John Micklethwaite, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist and Horst Köhler, ex-President of Germany, who provided the audience with a very interesting and visionary speech (available in english, french and german on the UIC website at: http://www.uic.org/com/english/uic-zoom/article/successfull-edition-2010-of-the).

During the ministerial session, Transport Ministers from International Transport Forum member countries discussed policy innovations to foster innovation and create the transport system of tomorrow.

The large interest that UIC members have expressed for this kind of platform of exchanges was evidenced by UIC’s participation in the Forum and discussions through the participation of Jean-Pierre Loubinoux on the panel “Getting down to business: Partnerships for a more innovative Transport System” on 28 May. He said: “At a time when competition is growing and the whole transport sector is fragmented, it is neccesary to have more complementarity between the modes of transport, for intermodality, fluidity, and better communicating systems.

Partnerships (not only PPP, but also institutional,financial, industrial,…) are also needed to bring forward innovative ideas. As transport grows business and business grows transport, innovations are necessary with a business and service approach. Innovations mean expenses, however an expense today can be a saving for tomorrow. And the strict financial ROI (Return On Investment) shouldn’t be the only concern. We have to look at the benefit for society too.”

Two days before, Mr Loubinoux and Dr. Volker Kefer, Board Member of Deutsche Bahn’s Technology and Services, successfully launched the innovative web application “EcoTransIT World” at the 2010 International Transport Forum in Leipzig.

The innovative “EcoTransIT World” provides carbon footprints of supply chains for all transport modes – rail, road, sea and air – on a world level. The tool supports the design of smart transport choices where the sustainability advantages of each mode are exploited and combined in one joint system. It offers open access to forwarders, carriers and logistics service providers and gives free and reliable information on their carbon footprint in line with upcoming standards of green accounting. The user can enter any number of starting points, destinations and interim stops to visualise various transport combinations and compare their emission values. This makes it easier to decide not only which transport chain is the most economical but also the most ecological for his company. Further on, the user can draw up his environment balance quickly and easily for routes all over the world. “EcoTransIT World” can also show the chosen transport solution in Google Maps and Google Earth.

Jean-Pierre Loubinoux explained that “with “EcoTransIT World” we can provide reliable carbon footprints of logistics chains with all transport modes on a global level. ”EcoTransIT World” offers an important contribution to the ongoing discussions on how to measure greenhouse gas impacts of the transport sector. It provides a scientifically proved, fair and balanced methodology approved by neutral environmental institutions.”

In addition to logistics customers, EcoTransIT World addresses political decision makers and non-governmental organisations as it provides concrete support for analysing the environmental impact, planning good strategies for modal shifting co-modality, to increasing awareness about the consequences of the transport choices we make every day.

The next step is to invite interested partners to cooperate and join the “EcoTransIT World” consortium. The idea is to build the joint sector standard for carbon footprinting, reducing transport emissions and greening logistical chains. The EcoTransIT World Stakeholder Workshop will take place on 5 October at UIC HQ in Paris. The workshop is especially targeted at shippers, carriers and logistics service providers in the freight sector.

We invite you to try out “EcoTransIt World” at www.ecotransit.org

On 29 May the Tunisian Transport Ministry organised a conference on the topic of “Railways as a vehicle for Maghreb integration.” The conference came in the broader context of the major inter-Maghreb rail transport project currently in progress to construct a trans-Maghreb high-speed line linking Casablanca with Tripoli via Algiers and Tunis.

Organised in collaboration with the Tunisian Industry, Trade and Crafts Union (UTICA) and chaired by Tunisian Transport Minister Mr Abderrahim Zouari, the conference brought together more than 250 participants, with high-level railway representatives from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, as well as experts, political figures, transport professionals, universities, representatives from international and financial organisations.

UIC was represented by Mr Jean-Pierre Lehman, Coordinator for the African Region, who reminded participants of the long-standing and close cooperation his association maintained with the African railways. This cooperation, he said, was linked to the strategic developments promoted by UIC members, in particular at the March 2009 General Assembly in Paris, and set to be upheld at the UIC General Assembly in Tokyo next week. He also reiterated UIC’s steadfast commitment in favour of the African railways, notably the MoU signed in 2007 between UIC and the African Union in Algiers. Signing this agreement had given UIC the opportunity to present its “Vision 2025” project. More recently in 2010, UIC’s Director General signed a MoU with the African Union in Addis Ababa, placing transport on the latter’s agenda as an issue of strategic priority. Mr Ignacio Barron, UIC Passenger Director and Bernard Schmidt, Senior Advisor for Freight, also took part in the conference. Mr Barron’s presentation focused on high speed and sustainable development while Mr Schmitt examined the Euro-Maghreb freight corridor.

The conference participants recommended developing a master-plan for Maghreb high-speed lines and an indicative timeline with dates.

The conference:

• Called for the harmonisation of the technical bases selected for projects and the development of technical and administrative interoperability between Maghreb countries’ networks, as well as controlling logistics costs, which are considered relatively high in Maghreb countries compared to Europe.
• Recommended incorporating rail transport into the Maghreb logistics promotion strategy, providing storage space in line with international standards, and creating logistics spaces, zones and hubs in public railway areas.

The participants were equally in favour of those studies being carried out which were needed for the implementation of Maghreb corridors and their interconnection with European corridors and those of the Mashriq. These corridors are to be presented to financial backers as well as various authorities such as Euromed, the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), European Commission, and Union for the Mediterranean (UPM) in order to benefit from improved financing and from innovative and incentivising financing mechanisms.

Mr Chokri Mamoghli, Tunisian Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, stressed the importance of implementing an efficient and modern basic transport infrastructure, which represented a key component of company competitiveness on both a national and regional level.

The Maghreb plays a leading role in the transport sector, stemming from its strategic situation as a bridge between the African and European continents and between the Mediterranean in the east and the Atlantic Ocean in the west, as highlighted by the Secretary of State. Mr Mamoghli stressed the “importance of the trans-Maghreb railway project, railways being the least onerous means of transport in terms of cost and time, the bottom line in business competitiveness.”

What is Operation Lifesaver:

The mother company “Operation Lifesaver” started in Idaho (U.S.A) in 1972 when the national average of collisions at highway-rail grade crossings exceeded 12,000 annually. A six-week public awareness campaign called “Operation Lifesaver” was sponsored by the office of Governor Cecil Andrus, the Idaho Peace Officers and Union Pacific railroad as a one-time, one-state initiative. During the campaign’s first year, Idaho’s crossing-related fatalities dropped by 43 percent. The next year, the Operation Lifesaver campaign spread to Nebraska, where their collision rate was reduced by 26 percent. Kansas and Georgia experienced similar success the following year. Between 1978 and 1986, while Operation Lifesaver operated under the auspices of the National Safety Council (NSC), all 49 congressional states started independent Operation Lifesaver programs. In 1986, the national program was released from NSC and incorporated as a national, non-profit educational organisation. The founding sponsors of Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), the Railway Progress Institute, Amtrak and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) continue to serve on OLI´s 11 members’ board. Operation Lifesaver (OL) exists also in Canada, Mexico and Argentina. The first OL branch in Europe was created in Estonia in 2004. OL exists also now in Finland since 2006.

"Operation Lifesaver" in Europe

In autumn 2003 Herb Payne, Chairman of the Management Board – Managing Director of AS Eesti Raudtee (also Member of UIC) recommended Tamo Vahemets to get acquainted with railway safety project “Operation Lifesaver” in the US. In July 2004 Tamo Vahemets represented Estonia in an international “Operation Lifesaver” symposium held in San Antonio, Texas. During the symposium Tamo Vahemets was granted the authority for establishing a branch of “Operation Lifesaver” in Estonia.

On November 19, 2004 AS Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railway Ltd), Tamo Vahemets and Urve Miidla the founded non-profit organisation “Operation Lifesaver Estonia” (OLE) following the principles accepted by Operation Lifesaver Inc.

Operation Lifesaver is an international, non-profit education and awareness program dedicated to ending tragic collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and on railroad rights of way.

To accomplish its mission, Operation Lifesaver just like the European Level Crossing Forum (ELCF) of which it is a member, promotes 3 Es:

• Education: Operation Lifesaver strives to increase public awareness about the dangers around the rails. The program seeks to educate both drivers and pedestrians to make safe decisions at crossings and around railway lines.
• Enforcement: Operation Lifesaver promotes active enforcement of traffic laws relating to crossing signs and signals and private property laws related to trespassing.
• Engineering: Operation Lifesaver encourages continued engineering research and innovation to improve the safety of level crossings.

Examples of OLE campaigns in Estonia are shown on the right column.

Thanks to their educational campaign in Estonia, Operation Lifesaver Estonia (OLE) have achieved a 50% reduction in the number of persons losing their life on rails in Estonia.

Please find hereafter an abstract of S. Fletcher’s publication in Operation Lifesaver Estonia’s (OLE) annual report 2009 describing the involvement of OLE in the 2009 European Level Crossing Awareness Day campaign. For the whole article please visit the OLE website or click on this hyperlink www.operationlifesaver.eu/ee/en/?id=15322

"…. ELCAD campaign in 2009 effectively gained momentum through the linking together of a number of national events either ongoing ones like OLE in Estonia or “Don’t Run the Risk" in the UK, or those specifically set up for the day like the one organised in Poland. The events were very diverse and many organisers around the 27 countries who took part were to be seen on the day itself handing out leaflets at level crossings and stations as well as organising awareness games with local children or taking part in the reconstruction of a crash between a car and a train etc. Linking all of these together on the same date was helped by having a common message: Stop Accidents! Europe for safer level crossings.

We are of course especially delighted that the Operation Lifesaver (U.S.A. and Canada) teams will join the ILCAD (International Level Crossing Awareness Day) 2010 event as will Operation Lifesaver Estonia and Argentina. Their support is especially welcome as they have vast experience in educational campaigns and their advice and ideas are able to help shape the ILCAD campaign 2010 into something really powerful"

Save the date for ILCAD (International Level Crossing Awareness Day): 22nd June 2010. Remember the international message: “Act safely at level crossings” An article will be published on this international event in the near future.

The first joint meeting of the UIC and Colpofer working groups on freight security was held in Paris at UIC HQ on 26 – 27 May in order to coordinate the work carried out in each group. The meeting was attended by European freight security managers (DBAG, DB Schenker, RCA, LDZ, PKP PLK SA, Trenitalia, SNCF, ZSSK Cargo and ZSR), Asian freight security managers (RZD and KTZ) and Railpol, the European network of police forces.

Colpofer acts as the European expert group within the UIC security platform. The Colpofer freight group addresses European topics such as the secure transport of dangerous goods based on RID/ADR Chapter 1.10, exchange of experiences regarding the information system and the creation of joint statements, while the UIC platform working group due to its global vocation organises its work on international corridors and focuses first and foremost on the improvement of railway freight transport security between Europe and Asia (E20-E30 corridors).

Following the presentations by both groups – G. Birkigt for the Colpofer group and V. Ternawski for the UIC platform group – each participant presented the main security problems in their company regarding freight transport and the prevention measures implemented. H. Fikar then gave an update on the status of development of freight corridors in Europe. Finally S. Vermeire, from ICSO (International Container Security Organisation), explained the joint UIC/ICSO/OSCE project involving a demonstration train to illustrate the benefits of the future custom union between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and the impact of political decisions on freight efficiency: time saving at borders, security improvement, etc.

Following this fruitful meeting for both groups, the decision was made to continue joint activities and to hold alternate specific and joint meetings with ongoing exchanges of information.

The sixth meeting of the European Network of Rail Training Centres (ENTC) took place in Austria on 20 and 21 May 2010 at ÖBB.

The key objective of the network, which brings together major European training providers from both commercial and non-commercial training centres, is to contribute to the liberalisation of the European rail training market by enabling active professional dialogue to take place between rail training professionals to support interoperability.

The meeting was attended by 24 participants from 12 countries representing some 16 training providers. For the first time, the network had the pleasure to welcome the manager of the Asian Network of Rail Training Centres (ANTC/Iratca), representatives from TCDD training centres, as well as the UIC representative for Central Asian Countries. Delegates from Kazakhstan, Morocco and Algeria had expressed their interest in the activity but were not able to attend.

Having a global representation of the group was very important, particularly when discussing the organisation of the first UIC World Congress on Rail Training. The congress is scheduled to be held from 6 - 8 April 2011 in Brussels, hosted by SNCB. The congress will tackle topical subjects such as skills fade and competence retention, adult learning and training methodologies, the role and development of trainers and training as an investment, and will include technical visits. The representative of ERA (European Railway Agency) Olaf Mette welcomed the initiative with enthusiasm and will explore how ERA can support the event. ERA is currently writing recommendations for the recognition and accreditation of training centres and examiners and Mr Mette delivered a presentation on the current status of the guidance material.

The meeting also served as an occasion for the German university of Würzburg, who has been commissioned by the network to undertake a benchmarking study on European Rail Training, to present their first set of results. The work is focused on three safety critical job positions: drivers, signallers/traffic controllers and signal/interlocking technicians and the researchers shared their initial results with the attendees.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for the audience to become acquainted with HRD and training activities across the ÖBB Group, with particular focus on ÖBB production training, (train drivers) and ÖBB infrastructure training (signallers). The different presentations enabled many exchanges to take place between the ÖBB staff and the network on training issues and methodologies. It also included looking at how the use of simulators can support training.

The last item on the agenda was dedicated to a roundtable discussion on the latest developments with railway companies with regard to the current issues facing training centres in the areas of resourcing and policies.

The network’s next meeting is scheduled for 21 and 22 October 2010 - venue to be confirmed.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that nearly $80 million in grants have been delivered to states as part of President Obama’s historic high-speed and intercity passenger rail program. These grants will go toward the development of a brand new Recovery Act funded high-speed rail system in Florida as well as critical upgrades to existing passenger rail service throughout the country.

“Delivering these funds is an important step forward in our efforts to upgrade and transform America’s transportation system, while spurring economic activity and creating jobs here at home,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “Our unprecedented investment in high-speed and intercity passenger rail is not only going to provide real environmental benefits and greater convenience for travellers, but also long-term economic development for communities across the country.” “The President’s vision for high-speed rail will forever change the way Americans travel by offering new transportation options,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The grants released today are merely the very beginning of many more to follow.” The $80 million in funding will benefit projects in many regions of the country, including:

• $66,600,000 for program management and preliminary engineering on the planned 168mph high-speed rail service between Tampa and Orlando, Florida. This project will create jobs and generate economic activity as 84 miles of track are constructed, stations are built or enhanced, and equipment is purchased. Along with California, Florida was the only state to submit plans to the Department of Transportation to create a brand new, high-speed rail line.
• $6,200,000 for track relocation work in California on the Capitol Corridor which will help bring about fewer delays and faster travel times along a route that connects San Francisco and Sacramento, the state capital.
• $5,700,000 for environmental assessments of planned new stations on the route between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin that will host passenger rail service operating at speeds up to 110mph.
• $1,000,000 for planning projects to improve service on the Empire Corridor in New York state. The 468-mile Empire Corridor connects all of New York’s largest cities. The near-term vision for the corridor is to increase passenger train speeds to 110mph.
• $100,000 for the creation of the first-ever rail plan for the state of New Mexico. This plan will help the state create a blueprint for passenger rail development that will eventually link major cities in the Southwest.

The President’s $8 billion down payment for high-speed rail, which was set in motion through a long-term plan announced in April 2009, is expected to create or save tens of thousands of jobs over time in areas like track-laying, manufacturing, planning, engineering, and rail maintenance and operations. The majority of the President’s Recovery Act passenger rail funding will go toward developing new, large-scale high-speed rail programs.

In addition to the $8 billion in Recovery Act funding, the Administration proposes a minimum $1 billion a year for five years in the federal budget to jump-start this multi-decade effort. Congress funded this program above and beyond the President’s initial request and allocated $2.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2010. (source: FRA)

For the last ten years, SBB has offered a service geared to customers with reduced mobility. Up to one hour before train departure, a free call to 0800 007 102 is all it takes to receive help boarding and alighting from trains in one of the 170 staffed stations. In 2009 alone, 44 000 requests were handled by SBB’s disabled helpline service in Brig and 121 000 assistance services were delivered by staff. (Source: SBB)

On 27 May Prime Ministers Matti Vanhanen and Vladimir Putin witnessed the departure of the new Allegro train from Lappeenranta to undergo tests in Russia. VR Group President and CEO Mikael Aro presented the new train to the Prime Ministers at Lappeenranta railway station. Mr Vanhanen and Mr Putin emphasised the significance of the Allegro project as the first high-speed rail connection between the EU and Russia. Finnish Minister of Transport Anu Vehviläinen and Russian Deputy Minister of Transport Aristov who have contributed to the development of the high-speed train project between the two countries also participated in the event.

VR and Russian Railways RZD aim to start Allegro services on the Helsinki - St. Petersburg line by the end of the year. Allegros will replace the current Sibelius and Repin trains and enable a gradual increase in train services between the two cities.

Travel time between Helsinki and St. Petersburg will initially be cut from nearly six hours to approximately three and a half. This is because the train’s locomotive will no longer have to be changed at the border and border crossing formalities in both countries will take place while the train is in motion. (Source: VR Group Ltd)

Saudi King Abdullah bin Aziz Al Saud has granted Morocco a donation of 200 million dollars towards the financing of the new TGV line set to link Tangiers with Casablanca.

The new stretch of TGV track from Tangiers to Casablanca is one of the largest transport projects Morocco intends to complete by 2015 to boost its socio-economic development. The total cost of the line, the first to be built in Africa, has been estimated at 200 billion euros by Morocco’s Transport Ministry. France recently agreed to lend Morocco 625 million euros to finance rolling stock and equipment for the line, on which work will begin during the course of 2010. The new link will cut travel times between Tangiers and Casablanca from 5 hours 45 minutes to just 2 hours 10 minutes.

Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel has snapped up the UK’s third biggest rail freight company in a £31 million deal. Eurotunnel’s move for GB Railfreight – which has been owned by transport company FirstGroup since 2003 – comes as the company looks to improve rail freight volumes through the Channel Tunnel which suffered during the recession.

GB Railfreight is the second major UK player in the sector to change hands in recent years after German Deutsche Bahn bought competitor EWS in 2007. Eurotunnel Chairman Jacques Gounon said the deal was “a further expression of our commitment to the UK”. “Growing concerns about the environment and the increasing need for freight transport over both long and short distances mean that rail freight is a growing market,” he added.