With Brazil's ambitious programme of railway construction plans stalling, the government is revising its concession model for new projects to rely more on private investment while easing pressure on public debt. Kevin Smith looks at the intricacies of this new policy and how the market might receive it.
TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has invited prospective operators to register their interest by mid-May for a new concession to run the London Overground rail network starting on November 13 2016 for a period of 7.5 years with an option to extend it by up to two years.
At the start of this year new 10-year concessions came into effect for infrastructure management and operation of passenger services on most of the Dutch railway network. Quintus Vosman considers whether lessons have been learned from the previous concession, and how the new agreements will shape the operation of the network over the next decade.
THE German state of Baden-Württemberg invites bids for a two-stage tender for a 13-year concession for the so-called Breisgau East-West Network 9a.
TENDERS for concessions to operate three regional rail networks in the German state of Baden-Württemberg have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
BIDS are invited by June 17 2015 for a 12-year concession to operate regional rail services on non-electrified lines in the German state of Brandenburg.
THE North West Rail (NWB) subsidiary of Veolia Verkehr, Germany, has won a 10-year concession from the transport authorities of Lower Saxony, Bremen, and Westphalia Lippe to operate the Weser-Ems rail network.
THE regional public transport authority of Schleswig-Holstein has published a tender in the Official Journal of the European Union for a concession to operate the northern German state's West network, which includes the 237km Hamburg-Altona - Westerland Marsh Railway service to the island of Sylt, from 2016 to 2025.
New operators and new rolling stock have brought a splash of colour to Germany's liberalised regional passenger market. They have also arguably greatly improved the level of service on offer. Kevin Smith gauges the views of some of the leading public transport authorities and private concessionaires on the current condition of the market and how they see it developing.
RHINE-RUHR Transport Authority (VRR) has invited bids by March 11 for three concessions for the five-line Rhine-Ruhr Express (RXX) network in Germany's Ruhr area.
