News NS consults regulator on The Hague - Brussels open-access plan
Quintus Vosman Regional editor
N
ETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has asked the Dutch Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) to clarify its position on plans being developed by the municipality of The Hague for a new open- access passenger service between The Hague and Brussels, which would compete with NS and Belgian National Railways (SNCB) services. In particular, NS wants the
regulator to consider whether the trains would target the Dutch domestic rail market, which is regulated. NS holds the concession to operate the so-called core network, which includes all inter-city services and the vast majority of regional and suburban trains. If the new service carries domestic passengers, revenue from this traffic is not permitted to exceed 0.4% of total turnover.
Meanwhile NS and SNCB have jointly requested 16 paths (eight return workings) in the 2014 timetable for a service between The Hague HS and Brussels South. The service, is proposed as an alternative to the Fyra service which was suspended when the fleet of
AnsaldoBreda V250 high- speed emus was withdrawn earlier this year.
The opening of HSL South has isolated The Hague from the international rail network, with the loss last December of the final remaining cross- border services from the city, which, as well as being the
Obama backs Foxx to succeed LaHood as transportation secretary
P
RESIDENT Barack Obama has nominated Mr Anthony Foxx (pictured), the current mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, as the next US secretary of transportation, subject to approval by the US Senate. Foxx replaces Mr Ray LaHood, who has held the post since Obama assumed office in 2009, and is widely credited for improving Charlotte’s public transport networks.
Obama described Foxx as “one of the most effective mayors that Charlotte’s ever seen,” and credited investment
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in public transport as one of the reasons for the city’s growing economy. The president also reserved special praise for LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, for his tireless effort to rebuild America’s
infrastructure and his success at bridging the partisan political divide. LaHood is retiring from politics after a 40-year career, which included a 15-year stint in the US House of Representatives from 1994- 2009. He described the transportation office as “the best job I have ever had.”
seat of the Dutch government, is an important administrative centre for the United Nations. A limited company known as The Hague Trains Holding, which is wholly-owned by the municipality of The Hague, has been established to manage the tendering process. A tender notice was published
in the Official Journal of the European Union in March and a preferred bidder was due to be chosen by the end of May. The financial risk of operating the service will fall on the train operator as The Hague Trains Holding intends to provide little or no financial support for the services.
Route chosen for Roissy - Picardy link F
RENCH transport minister Mr Frédéric Culliver announced on April 30 that the so-called North - Central alignment has been selected as the preferred route option for the 306m link between the Paris - Creil - Amiens line and TGV Interconnexion, the high- speed bypass which runs east of Paris.
The 7km line will allow TGVs to run directly from Amiens and Creil to Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and destinations such as Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, and Bordeaux. Currently passengers must travel via central Paris, and the new line will reduce journey times by around 30 minutes.
The new line will also be used by regional services from towns in the Picardy region to CDG.
Further studies will now be carried out, including environmental impact assessments, before public consultation begins. The project is also being evaluated by the Mobilité 21 commission, which is reviewing the previous government’s ƒ245bn 20- year National Plan for Infrastructure (Snit) to determine where cost savings can be made. The commission is due to report its findings this month, and Culliver says he is confident the strengths of the Roissy - Picardy link will be recognised.
IRJ June 2013
Photo: Quintus Vosman
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