Great Britain is digitising its borders: EU citizens will also need a travel permit from April 2, 2025
Now Brexit is becoming concrete for travelers. From April 2, 2025, citizens from EU countries, Switzerland and the Vatican City must apply for a digital travel permit, the ETA, before traveling. Conversely, British citizens must apply for a digital ETIAS permit of the EU.
15th VPI Symposium: Rail infrastructure needs reliability in renovation
The 15th VPI Symposium of the Association of Freight Wagon Owners in Germany took place in Hamburg on January 14, 2025. VPI Chairman Malte Lawrenz described the poor condition of the railway infrastructure as the “biggest pain point in the industry”. In front of the 250 participants, the VPI chairman named other key areas of action: securing innovation funding for projects such as ETCS and DAK, reforming the track pricing system, separating InfraGo from the DB Group, securing single wagon traffic and strengthening combined transport.
Network “Die Güterbahnen” and BDI: German government should further expand German rail infrastructure
The new year 2024 has just begun. But the debates about the future of the German rail infrastructure are already starting again. The President of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) Prof. Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Russwurm criticised that there is currently “definitely too little capacity” in the German rail network. The infrastructure is overloaded and in need of renovation, permits and construction take too long. The managing director of the network NEE – DIE GÜTERBAHNEN (THE FREIGHT RAILWAYS) Peter Westenberger agreed with the criticism: “Fewer tracks instead of the more required ones make the growth of rail more difficult, including in freight transport.”
New structure: Fret SNCF fights for survival
The break-up of the French state-owned rail freight company Fret SNCF has begun. In the economic service “actu transport logistics” on November 27, 2023, SNCF freight sales and marketing director Edouard Laverny explained: “Between December 10 and January 1, 2024, 13 of the 23 affected traffic flows will be converted.” In other words: Fret SNCF is already in the process of handing over a large proportion of commercially interesting transport contracts to the competition.
Neue Struktur kommt: Fret SNCF kämpft um das Überleben
Die Zerschlagung des staatlichen französischen Unternehmens für Schienengüterverkehr Fret SNCF hat begonnen. Im Wirtschaftsdienst „actu transport logistics“ erklärte am 27. November 2023 der SNCF-Frachtverkaufs- und Marketingdirektor Edouard Laverny: „Zwischen dem 10. Dezember und dem 1. Januar 2024 werden 13 der 23 betroffenen Verkehrsströme umgestellt.“ Anders formuliert: Fret SNCF ist bereits dabei, einen Großteil kommerziell interessanter Verkehrsverträge an die Konkurrenz abzugeben.
Germany: Master plan to accelerate the expansion of the electric charging infrastructure
“The charging infrastructure master plan II creates the basis for a comprehensive, needs-based and user-friendly car and truck charging infrastructure,” emphasised the German Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, Dr. Volker Wissing. And the Federal Minister for Economics and Climate Protection Dr. Robert Habeck explained: “The charging infrastructure must be integrated into the power grid in a system-friendly way. An interministerial steering group will coordinate further work.”
Germany: Rail transport parliamentary group with a new cast
The long-established Rail Transport Parliamentary Group (PG Schiene) of the German Bundestag is starting the new legislative period with new staff. On April 7, as their chairman the parliamentarians unanimously elected the chairman of the transport committee, Udo Schiefner, MdB, from the SPD parliamentary group.
Competent and concrete: Rail commissioner Theurer at the VDV/BME forum
"We need a strong ramp-up of rail freight traffic!" affirmed the new Rail Commissioner of
the German Federal Government, Michael Theurer, at the 15th Forum for Rail Freight
Transport organized by the VDV/BME. Cargo Manager documents the 20-minute speech on
the Cargo Manager video platform at the link: https://youtu.be/Ofrqh4FdSzY
German government: new railway commissioner wants to expand infrastructure
The parliamentary state secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport, Michael Theurer, made his first public appearance at an online conference organised by the “Pro-Rail Alliance” with “train influencers”. Theurer came out as a “frequent rail traveller”.
Alianz pro Schiene demands immediate increase of German rail freight traffic to 25 percent
At the turn of the year, the non-profit Allianz Pro Schiene (Alliance pro rail) called for an immediate increase in the share of rail freight transport in the transport activity in Germany to 25 percent.