2009-01: INTEGRAIL Final Conference 03 March 2009, Brussels

The InteGRail consortium is pleased to invite you to its Final Conference which will take place 03 March 2009, 10h00 – 16h30 in Brussels. The conference will present the results of the EU funded R&D project InteGRail (Intelligent Integration of Railway Systems) which will end in March 2009.

Over the last four years, the 39 partners (railway system suppliers, railway operators and research institutes) developed a reference platform for an interoperable information system to promote seamless railway transportation in Europe. The conference will present the technology of this InteGRail Information System (IGRIS).The highlight will be the live demonstration of the pilot-applications that are running on this platform. The successful tests of these applications in different locations in Europe in 2008 proved that the platform is capable of improving communication between railway operators, thus optimising the performance of the rail system on an international scale.

Please block the dates in your diary. You will receive an update of the agenda and logistics information in February.
For information and registration, please visit www.integrail.info and www.integrail.eu, or otherwise please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

2009-01: Deutsche Bahn buys largest private-sector rail freight operator in Poland

POLAND: Deutsche Bahn announced on January 30 that it had reached agreement to purchase PCC Logistics, the largest private-sector rail freight operator in Poland. The deal was signed in Warszawa by DB Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn, Board Member, Logistics, Norbert Bensel and the founder of PCC Group Waldemar Preussner, and is subject to regulatory approval.

Further details at:

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2009/01//db_schenker_buys_into_polish_freight_market.html

2009-01: Railtex 2009 at Earls Court, London from 10-12 March 2009

NewRail - the Centre for Railway Research at Newcastle University, UK will have a stand at Railtex 2009 at Earls Court, London from 10-12 March 2009.

Railtex 2009 is the UK’s leading Rail event of railway equipment systems and services.

If you are attending the exhibition come and see us at Stand 239.

As the industry’s meeting place and with hundreds of new products and services covering the entire rail supply market, free to attend seminars, conferences, meetings and networking, combined with live demonstrations Railtex is the must-attend rail event of 2009.

More information at:
www.railtex.co.uk and
www.newrail.org

2009-01: Growth and the capacity challenge

- an international perspective

10-12 March 2009, Earls Court, London, UK

With limited funding for investment in extra capacity, more traffic will have to be squeezed onto rail networks which are already under severe pressure. Coping with rising demand will require innovative approaches from infrastructure managers and train operators alike.

Conference topics include:

• Optimising for capacity
• Getting the most from your network
• Tackling the bottlenecks
• Building for growth
• Smarter operating
• Enhancing performance

http://www.railwaygazette.com/conference

2009-01: EC funds rail infrastructure projects to tune of €1.7 billion

The EC has recently funded 11 rail infrastructure projects under the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) programme. The confirmation of funding for these projects was announced recently in Verona during a high-level conference to discuss the future of TEN-T policy. The 11 new projects concern important railway works in Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary. The total value of the projects amounts to around €1.7 billion.

Some of the projects were actual improvements to railway lines, such as the Lyon to Turin base tunnel, whilst others, such as the cross-border section between Trieste in Italy and Divača in Slovenia, were for designs and studies. The EC hopes that the projects will also have two-fold economic benefits for the EU. EC Vice-President and Commissioner for Transport, Antonio Tajani, said of the projects, 'Investing in key European transport infrastructure today is a demonstration that the European Union can respond to the economic crisis, in the short term by accelerating infrastructure projects, and in the medium term by creating the core rail network that will sustain Europe's competitiveness and meet the challenge of climate change'.

Further information
EC Press Release IP/08/1891 of 5 December 2008 is available at: http://europa.eu/rapid

The EC pages on the TEN-T programme are available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/ten/transport/index_en.htm