Week 37 - September 2005

The European Commission has allocated EUR 356 million for studies and construction work for the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) projects. The priority projects alone will receive almost 85% of this amount. More than 70% has been allocated to railway projects and 20% to intelligent and innovative transport systems such as railway interoperability systems. Projects and studies receiving significant support, often on top of subsidies granted in previous years, include the Galileo project and the future Lyon-Turin and Brenner trans-Alpine rail links.

The support is granted to projects, which had already been identified in the Indicative Multiannual Programme 2001-2006 (IMP), which mainly covers the 30 priority projects adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in April 2004. More than half the funds support construction work (up to a maximum of 10%). The rest has been granted for technical, economic, financial and environmental studies and other activities required to obtain a building permit (up to a maximum of 50%). The funding granted to high-speed railway line projects is subject to strict compliance with interoperability requirements.

A second group of projects identified in the IMP — worth almost a further EUR 150 million — will receive funding in the next few weeks. In addition, further decisions will be taken in the autumn on the financing of TEN projects in the ten new Member States and other TEN-T projects — totalling almost EUR 100 million — in the framework of the call for proposals on the TEN-T annual budget. These subsidies concern smaller-scale projects, which are complementary to those financed by the IMP.

The priority projects for the trans-European network alone represent an investment of EUR 225 billion between now and 2020. In view of their importance for boosting competitiveness and cohesion within the Union, the Commission has proposed, in the framework of the financial perspective for 2007-2013, a significant increase in the trans-European networks’ budget. The Commission proposes an overall budget of EUR 20.35 billion over the period 2007-2013. To make up for the national “shortfalls” in funding observed on transnational sections, the Commission’s proposal advocates increasing the rate of support (up to 30% and in exceptional cases up to 50% of total project cost) and targeting funding on cross-border projects. 

Please find a list of the railway projects through this link.

On 9 September the Swiss intermodal operator Hupac celebrated the opening of the expanded terminal at Busto Arsizio-Gallarate north of Milano in the presence of the Italian Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi and his Swiss counterpart Moritz Leuenberger. Covering an area of 240,000 m², the site has an initial capacity of 23 train pairs per day. Project building costs amounted to some CHF 75 million (EUR 50 million).

Today the Busto Arsizio-Gallarate terminal is one of the most important freight load transfer terminals from road to rail south of the Alps. The original infrastructure at Busto Arsizio was created in 1992 and has now been expanded into the neighbouring district of Gallarate. In the medium term, operational capacity can be increased to 30 train pairs per day corresponding to a daily transfer volume of 1.500 road consignments. The terminal expansion was designed by the engineering team of Hupac Intermodal SA on behalf of its associate company Hupac Termi SpA and was completed on time and within budget and opened for traffic on the due date. The project was primarily financed by repayable loans from the Swiss Federation. The terminal is the nerve centre of Hupac’s European Shuttle Net network. It combines the transport advantages of a conveniently placed central location, with an infrastructure capable of high levels of efficiency and safety.

The Serbian Railways JZ has announced that the new-constructed contact line between the stations Zablace and Cacak, on the railway line Kraljevo — Cacak, will be electrified on 12 September.

Completion of electrification of the line from Cacak towards Kraljevo is part of a large project of system repair and modernisation, electrification and signalling of the complete railway network in Central Serbia.

According to evaluations, EUR 21 million is needed for electrification of the line between Cacak and Kraljevo, and another EUR 250 million for the repair of the complete railway network in Central Serbia. So far 30% of the whole project was finished.

As a part of the electrification of this line, the station in Zablace was completely reconstructed, and the process adaptation of the station building in Cacak will soon be finished.

The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has prepared a progress report on the “Implementation of the Charter on Rail Passenger Services in Europe” that will be presented on 13 September.

CER, the International Union of Railways — UIC, and the International Railway Transport Committee — CIT adopted the Charter on Rail Passenger Services in October 2002, as a clear commitment by Europe’s railway companies to customer service requirements. It covers all rail services, both national and international, except where public authorities set different specific conditions.Please find the focus article through this link.

This is the third report to be published on the implementation of the CER-UIC-CIT Freight Quality Charter. As in earlier reports, concrete results and progress achieved by the railways in the field of rail freight quality are illustrated, two years after the adoption of the Charter in July 2003.

Over the past two years, rail freight quality has been a topic of intense political discussions in the Brussels political arena. As part of the so-called Third Railway Package currently under discussion in the European Parliament and Council, the European Commission decided to propose a regulation to impose a system of contractual penalties on rail freight.

Please read the focus article through this link.

On September 1^st, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Vladimir Spidla, admitted the European Rail Infrastructure Managers, EIM as a member of the Railway Social Dialogue Committee.

The purpose of the Committee is to identify the steps to be taken in order to strengthen the social dialogue at European level, to make it more adaptable and to link the work of the social partners more closely to the development and implementation of EU policies.

The Social Protocol gives considerable powers and responsibilities to the social partners, and the European railway social dialogue has already obtained major results in the last year. Two agreements were reached: one on common health and safety conditions and common competence standards, limited to cross-border services; the other on working conditions for cross-border staff, containing minimum standards for working hours and daily rest periods. Both subsequently have been adopted by the Council under the Social Protocol procedure.

EIM and its members favour an open, competitive and borderless European rail transport system for both freight and passengers. Therefore EIM is committed to act positively in order to effectively protect the workers’ interest, but at the same time not create undue barriers towards new entrants on the market.

An open and transparent competition is for the good of passengers and costumers within the rail sector, as well as for a market share growth, which will lead to more jobs. But there is more to be done. European Railway Legislation has created a move from one national state owned railway company per country to a much more fragmented sector with one infrastructure manager per country and hundreds of train operation companies.

The setting up of the European Railway Agency - ERA has taken that new structure of the sector into account, and EIM will welcome the same move in the field of the Social Dialogue Committee.

The prestigious Brunel Awards Competition distinguishes some of the best projects in railway architecture, graphics, industrial design and art, technical infrastructure and environmental integration, rolling stock, as well as examples of overall design quality across the world’s railways.

The competition is named after the noted British railway engineer, inventor and architect Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), founder and builder of the Great Western Railway.

Established in 1985 by the Watford Conference of European Railway Architects and Designers, the launch of the Brunel Awards Competition marked the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Great Western Railway in England. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presented the first edition of the awards in Bristol.

In 2005 the Watford Group has exclusively authorised Danish State Railways DSB to conduct the 9th Brunel Awards International Railway Design Competition. A distinguished jury composed of internationally respected design professionals judged the competition in Copenhagen. The formal awards ceremony will take place in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, on 14 September, followed by the Watford Conference 2005.

This year 157 valid entries from 44 companies in 15 countries on 3 Continents were judged according to the following categories:

·         Architecture; 7 Awards, 10 Commendations

·         Graphics, Industrial design and Art; 3 Awards, 4 Commendations

·         Technical Infrastructure and Environment; 2 Awards, 3 Commendations

·         Rolling Stock; 3 Awards, 4 Commendations

·         Special Brunel Jury Prize for Excellence in Corporate Design

The Jury will award a special Brunel Jury Prize for Excellence in Corporate Design to a railway company or organisation that exhibits a strong commitment to design excellence across many areas of their business activities as evidenced by their submission to the Brunel Awards competition. The special Brunel Jury will take form of a original piece of sculpture that can be displayed in the winners principal place of business.

The Swiss Railways SBB got 3 awards, 5 commendations, as well as the Jury’s Special Prize for outstanding overall achievement, and this is the second time that SBB receives it. The jury commented: "The SBB entries were very consistent on all levels while remaining varied in design. The SBB has maintained its high quality standards for decades and works with the best architects. They choose different architects who preserve a regional attitude in their architecture."

In the course of the 5th Conference of Director Generals of European railways in St. Petersburg 2-4 September 2005, Vladimir Yakunin, the President of Russian Railways, and Hartmut Medorn, the CEO of Deutsche Bahn AG, have signed an agreement on cooperation aimed at foundation and operation of representative agencies of the two companies in Moscow and Berlin.

According to the agreement, the agencies are to be non-profit organisations. The parties have set the following key tasks for the agencies:

·         To promote increase of railway freight and passenger traffic between Russia and Germany, as well as in International connections with third countries;

·         To prepare proposals on the improvement of International freight and passenger traffic and of the quality of services provided by the parties;

·         To help reach mutual decisions on issues concerned with freight and passenger traffic;

·         To support and develop business relations between central authorities of Russian Railways and DB AG;

·         To market services provided by the parties on Russian-German direct railway connection.The agreement is signed for three years since the effective date.

·         13-15 September in Budapest (HU): CEE Rail 2005 conference. CEE Rail is a director-level, interactive conference experience, where speakers and panellists represent all the key operators from throughout the Central and Eastern European region. It is the region’s most prestigious strategic rail industry conference where ideas, intelligence and relationships really make a difference. More information is available through this link.

·         14-16 September in Manchester, (UK): Infrarail 05, is now a regular two-yearly fixture in the UK rail industry’s calendar. The return of the show to its original venue at Manchester’s G-Mex Centre in 2003 proved equally popular with visitors and exhibitors, both of which increased in numbers from the previous show. Infrarail has been developed for companies active in all sectors of the rail infrastructure market, embracing both main line and urban networks. Infrarail 05 will be the sixth in this established series. For further information please find out more through this link.

·         21 September in Brussels (BE): Lunch meeting with Jean-Michel Dancoisne, Director-General of Thalys International, organised by European Rail Circle. "10 years of Thalys International s.c.r.l.:The Thalys' experience of international passenger rail operation under one responsibility, lessons for the future in a fully liberalized transport market." For further information please contact European Rail Circle, Jennifer Clarkson. Tel: +32 2 641 9989. Fax: +32 2 626 1901. E-mail: information@eurorailcircle.org . Website: www.eurorailcircle.org .

·         4-6 October in Jönköping (SE): Nordic Rail 2005 exhibition and conference organised by Elmia AB in cooperation with Järnvägsforum, Nordic Infrastructure Managers (NIM) and Forum för Nordiskt Järnvägssamarbete (NJS). Nordic Rail has become the natural meeting place for everyone with an interest in the Nordic railways. Nordic Rail is organised every second year at Elmia in Jönköping, southern Sweden. For further information please follow this link.

·         25 October in Paris (FR): “Rail Freight Noise Abatement in Europe” A consensus building workshop for all relevant stakeholders organised by UIC - the international Union of Railways and CER - Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies. Reduced noise is crucial for the growth of the European rail freight business. This workshop will be the first out of three annual workshops that will be hosted by UIC and CER jointly supported by the European railway sector to focus on the retrofitting of rail freight vehicles. There will be different topics for each year, the first one focussing on the benefit of retrofitting for the rail sector as well as for the European citizens that are protected by the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49. The aim of the workshop is to gather all relevant stakeholders and discuss status and next steps for a quieter rail freight operation in Europe. The workshop is for everyone dealing with noise issues, especially for all the regional and local authorities in each Member State working to implement the Environmental Noise Directive. For further information please find invitation and programme through this link .

·         7-9 November in Milano (IT): The 5^th Exhibition and conference EurailSpeed 2005 organised by Europoint. EurailSpeed is the meeting place for the international high-speed rail community, where decision makers and professionals from all over the world will visit this event to network, update their knowledge of the technology, and enjoy a stimulating professional visit. This year the organisation aims at generously exceeding these achievements.  The 5th World Congress & Exhibition on High Speed Rail in Milan in 2005 will be the most important event in the long distance passenger rail transportation and infrastructure sector. It will include; A high profile conference on high speed rail developments with an expected 1,500 delegates from all five continents. (plenary sessions, round tables and debates led by opinion leaders and international experts representing a broad spectrum of policymakers, economy, financial institutions, industry and transport sector of the high speed business community. ); A top level international exhibition on high speed rail developments including aspects of rolling stock and high speed rail infrastructure, train operations and services with an expected 5,000 visitors; A selection of various technical visits to relevant rail sites; and Eexcursions for accompanying persons and pre & post tours, gala dinner (All congress participants and their partners will be invited to attend this dinner. transportation to and from the venue will be arranged. ) For further information please have a look at the website: http://www.eurailspeed.com

·         7-9 November inDortmund (DE): Railtec 2005 conference and exhibition. The rail#tec offers enterprises of the railway technology industry and the transport and traffic industry an excellent opportunity for presentation of modern products and innovative services. More information is available through this link.

If you have any events for the X-Rail.net Calendar, please do not hesitate to send us an email with information of the event! Send an email to: editor@x-rail.net with your event information!