Policy

Private operators will be allowed to bid for licenses to operate long-distance and high-speed lines next year, the Spanish government has said. From "the first half of 2014" privately-owned train operators will be able to take over the running of...

A judge in California has blocked the state's high-speed rail authority from issuing more than $8 billion in bonds to fund phase one of the $68 billion HSR network between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The ruling by the Sacramento...

Russian Railways has announced that it will invest 1.2 trillion rubles in improving its infrastructure and rolling stock between 2014 and 2016. Projects earmarked for investment in the next three years include the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) and Trans-Siberian Express, upgrades...

The new chairman of HS2, Sir David Higgins, has been told he will need to report to the government in March with ideas on how to cut the cost of the £42.6 billion project. Outgoing Network Rail boss Higgins will...

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has set out the final draft of its proposals for rail funding and performance over the next five years. The industry regulator has scaled back its original savings target of £2 billion for Network...

HS2 is still the best option for meeting the UK's rail capacity needs, that is the message coming out of the Department for Transport. Publishing its new strategic business case for Britain's planned high-speed line, the DfT suggested that any...

The European Commission has published a map detailing the nine key transport corridors that it believes will radically improve the current "patchwork" of road and rail links. Announcing the latest development, the EU said it would triple the transport budget...

Legislation to put SNCF back in charge of France's rail infrastructure has been unveiled by Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier. The reformed structure would see infrastructure manager RFF abolished and replaced by a restructured SNCF. Under the new framework, SNCF will be...

The European Commission's Transport Council has reached a 'general approach agreement' on plans to simplify the safety approval process across the continent. MEPs are discussing plans to create a Single European Rail Area to repair a fragmented system which currently...