AS the world’s leading economies stagger out of recession and record their first periods of meagre growth, the rail sector looks set to achieve much stronger growth than the overall economic performance of most countries, as investment in rail surges ahead.

The need to restore battered economies and substantially reduce carbon emissions will provide all countries with immense challenges in the decade ahead. International Association of Public Transport secretary general Hans Rat (pictured) explains to Keith Barrow why public transport offers hope on both fronts.

THE 119 world leaders attending the United Nations’ COP15 climate change conference in Copenhagen last month had yet to make any pronouncements as this issue of IRJ went to press. However, as transport accounts for 23% of global CO2 emissions, it is sure to feature in the final declaration. Rail transport, being the only good boy, amongst the different modes, has done an excellent job in promoting rail as the only green mode, but the question is whether this momentum can be maintained.

 

David Azema, French National Railways’ (SNCF) director of finance and strategy, talked to Keith Fender about SNCF’s plans to develop its freight business and high-speed services.

 

YOU don’t get to be the world’s second richest man and one of the world’s most successful investors by making bad investments. So Warren Buffett’s audacious decision to sink a cool $US 34 billion into one of North America’s largest railways, BNSF, is a huge vote of confidence in the future of rail transport. It is not that long ago that investors of the calibre of Buffett would not have touched railway stock with a barge pole, and for sure, they would have lost their shirts.

The International Union of Railways (UIC) is organising a series of events to demonstrate the role railways can play in reducing carbon emissions, ahead of this month’s crucial international climate conference in Copenhagen. Keith Barrow reports on how the Train to Copenhagen is fuelling debate on how to reduce transport emissions.

 

SWEDEN was the birthplace in the 1980s of one of the biggest and most controversial changes in the way railways are run - the separation of infrastructure management from train operations. Sweden is now pioneering an equally-controversial reform by merging the management of the national road and rail networks into one body along with the planning for roads, railways, airports and ports and the links between them.

 

The world market for rail equipment will grow during the next four years despite the economic crisis says Maria Leenen (pictured), CEO of SCI Verkehr, Germany, in an exclusive interview with David Briginshaw.

 

WHILE there are encouraging signs that the worst economic recession since the Great Depression is bottoming out, it is already clear that some railfreight operators have weathered the storm far better than others. The shrewd operators have seized the moment to prepare themselves to take advantage of the recovery when it comes.

How has a medium-sized manufacturer like Stadler reached the point where it can compete successfully with the biggest names in the rolling stock business? Anitra Green caught up with CEO and majority shareholder Peter Spuhler to find out.