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THE MAGAZINE FOR EUROPEAN RAIL DECISION MAKERS

To meet demand for higher performance and reliability
fleets depend on design, materials & engineering

Technology & innovation are vital if rail
is to capture & retain passengers

Discover the planning, equipment & construction
behind all major projects in Europe & further afield

Corridors, logistics, markets supply & demand.
The driving forces behind goods transit by rail

Latest developments in standards & regulations.
Technology, product tests & deployment

Infrastructure

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INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGERS WORK WITH EU TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by Michael Robson, secretary general, EIM

INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGERS WORK WITH EU The European Union has been concerned with the rail industry for many years, as the creation and success of the internal market, and the resulting increase in demand for transport, have made it necessary to integrate the various national rail networks into a pan-European system. To that end, it has put forward a wide range of legislative initiatives over the last decades covering, for example, market opening, inter-operability, state aid and passenger rights.

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

PROJECT PORTUGAL – REFER AT FOREFRONT OF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Over the past decade we have developed an ambitious investment plan to upgrade our main railway axis – alongside the Atlantic coast between…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 20 - by Dr Romeu Reis, REFER
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF HIGH SPEED IN SAUDI ARABIA
The Hispano-Saudi consortium Al Shoula Group has won the second and final phase of the contract to build the Haramain High…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 26 - by EURAILmag
BALLAST & RAILS – HIGHWAY TO HIGH SPEED
The look, the appeal, the rush, the feel. Thirty years on, high-speed trains still retain an element of excitement. Here in…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 25 - by EURAILmag
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE GROUND, TRACK SYSTEM & TRAIN
Recent years have seen significant expansion in passenger and freight volumes on railways across the world. In addition to this increase in…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 19 - by University of Southampton - University of Birmingham
DEPLOYMENT OF ROLLING STOCK ON-BOARD ETCS – SNCF’S RETURN ON EXPERIENCE & VISION FOR THE FUTURE
The development of ERTMS under the patronage of the European Commission began in 1989. After more than 20 years of experience, the…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 24 - by Franck Bourgeteau, head of brake and safety equipment, department SNCF Rolling Stock Engineering Centre (CIM); Jean-Marc Cerez, head of safety equipment, project development, SNCF Rolling Stock Direction; Thomas Joindot, ERTMS director, Pierre-Jean Ginoux, ERTMS deputy director, SNCF
INFRABEL INVESTS IN BETTER AIRPORT ACCESS
Infrabel, Belgium’s infrastructure manager, is investing heavily to extend rail capacity towards Brussels airport. An important project in this respect is…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by Frédéric Petit, spokesman, Infrabel
CONCRETE SLEEPERS FOR BALLASTED AND NON-BALLASTED POINTS
Nowadays most new switches and turnouts are equipped with concrete sleepers. For ballasted track, most of these switches are applied in renewal…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 19 - by Andre Nolles BAM Rail
ACEM-RAIL – TOWARDS AUTOMATED & OPTIMISED TRACK MAINTENANCE
Railway infrastructure can be broadly split into three systems: the track, the power supply, and the communication and signalling system. Their maintenance…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 27 - by Dr. Noemi Jimenez-Redondo, head of R&D, Cemosa
FIRE TESTING AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PASSENGER SEATS
According to the new standard PRCEN/TS 45545-2, various methods are used to test the burning behaviour of passenger seats with regards…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by Michael Halfmann, head of fire technology, Currenta
RFI – SAFETY & SIGNALLING ON FLORENCE-BOLOGNA
The new, high-speed Bologna-Florence line, scheduled to begin service before the end of October 2009, extends for nearly its entire…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 19 - by Fabio Senesi, Nazzareno Filippini & Raffaele Malangone, RFI
CRESTING THE WAVES, INTERVIEW WITH JACQUES GOUNON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GROUPE EUROTUNNEL
For the past 16 years the Channel tunnel has provided what has become an indispensible rail link for freight and passengers between…

INTERVIEW - ISSUE 23 - by EURAILmag
SURFING UNDER THE WAVES
Guess where I’m phoning from?” Since July of this year, passengers and transporters using the Channel Tunnel have been able to…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 26 - by EURAILmag
SILENCING RAIL SQUEAK ON BENDS
In rail, everyone is accustomed to hearing the wheels of a train rolling. But nobody likes squeaking. Avoiding rail squeak on bends…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 20 - by André Kofmehl, Igralub
RAIL SAFETY, GSM-R & INFRABEL
Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel is busy installing GSM-R across the entire network. GSM-R, the standardised system for digital communications, is…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 16 - by Frédéric Petit, Infrabel
LONDON CONTINENTAL RAILWAYS GEARS UP TO GO, INTERVIEW WITH ROB HOLDEN, LONDON CONTINENTAL RAILWAYS
High Speed 1, the fast line linking the U.K. to the continent, will open for commercial services on November 14, 2007. At…

INTERVIEW - ISSUE 16 - by EURAILmag
INFRABEL GOES WITH THE WIND. INTERVIEW WITH LUC LALLEMAND, CEO
I strongly believe in PPPs for rail because each partner brings its expertise to the table. In the case of Infrabel, we…

INTERVIEW - ISSUE 19 - by EURAILmag
DB STATION LINKS CITY AND RAIL
Stations are the visiting cards of towns and cities. To help towns and communes swiftly find the best solutions for their stations…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 17 - by Birgit Hampel & Tim Lehmann, DB Station
TRAINS, TUNNELS, STATIONS AND PASSENGERS – TACKLING THE COMPLEXITIES OF UNDERGROUND FIRE PROTECTION
The aim of this article is twofold: to explore the engineering aspects of fire protection and present key points for approaching new…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by Gabriel Santos, safety manager, Metro de Madrid
TRAIN TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE THE SLIDE
Research on new, vehicle-based technologies for combating the impact of leaves on the rails gets to the root of the problem…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 26 - by Professor T. X. Mei, University of Salford Manchester
INESS – DELIVERING ERTMS-COMPLIANT INTERLOCKINGS
With the INESS* signalling project now at an end, hopes are high that its results will favour the integration of ERTMS in…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 25 - by EURAILmag
ARTIFICIAL BALLAST – NEW MATERIALS FOR A NEW APPROACH TO RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE
Innovation in railway infrastructure has developed along mutually exclusive paths either with ballasted or slab track. Until now, no intermediate solution has…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 24 - by P. González Requejo, project initiatorD. Losa Baur, A. Gutiérrez A. Rincón, P. Iglesias, Fundación Caminos de Hierro Madrid
COPING WITH THE EXTREME – CAN RAIL WEATHER THE STORM?
Cyclones, forest fires, heat waves, heavy rain and snow…. As the climate changes, the transport sector needs to change too. In response…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 21 - by EURAILmag
FRANCE TEST TRAINS & BREAKS RECORDS
On December 18, 2006, during the initial speed trials on the track, French transport minister Dominique Perben presented the ‘French excellence’ programme…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 16 - by Alain Cuccaroni, RFF / François Lacôte, Alstom / Jacques Couvert, SNCF
TECHNICAL SKILLS & SOLAR ENERGY – TUNNELS MAKE THEIR MARK IN BELGIUM
Tunnels are big in Belgium right now. Rail infrastructure manager Infrabel has under- taken two ambitious construction projects in Antwerp. The Liefkenshoek…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 24 - by Frédéric Petit & Chloé Van Driessche, Infrabel
LIEGE-GUILLEMINS STATION – A DISTRICT IN THE HEART OF THE CITY
A few months prior to its inauguration, building works have entered the final phase at Liège-Guillemins. Already all the new platforms…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by Martine Doutreleau, Euro Liège TGV