Dutch ProRail starts wartime infrastructure preparations

Symbolic picture by Erwin van der Linden

Dutch railway manager ProRail is preparing for a possible outbreak of war due to rising geopolitical tensions. Despite not having war protocols in place, companies, authorities, and organizations have emergency plans or are in contact with the national government to prepare for the moment that war breaks out. ProRail is making the country’s most vital freight corridors ready to handle longer trains and is exploring options for wider trains to run on the tracks.

ProRail does not yet have a clear war plan but intends to develop one, ensuring a more flexible definition of existing rules to give military transports preference on the tracks if necessary. Infrastructure is of “essential importance” during a war, and ProRail is looking into options for repairing tracks during war. Water supply companies in the Netherlands are also prepared for war, with their supply plans updated to suit current circumstances and expected threats.

Source:

NL Times

Deutsche Bahn discussing maintenance location closures

Symbolic Picture by HoBoTrails12AM on Pixabay

Deutsche Bahn AG is considering giving up entire maintenance locations across Germany as part of its S3 restructuring programme. This move is being discussed, and an audit mandate from the company’s top management has not yet been made. The state-owned freight railway company, which has lost almost ten billion euros in recent years, wants to return to profitability and cut 30,000 jobs, mainly in administration. By 2027, the S3 programme should improve the group’s operating result to two billion euros, with DB Cargo contributing 369 million euros.

In Europe, DB Cargo still maintains the largest maintenance network in the industry, with eleven depots, 15 branches, and 58 mobile teams. In Germany, the company maintains the largest maintenance network in the industry, with depots in Mannheim, Mainz-Bischofsheim, Saarbrücken, Kornwestheim, and Offenburg. The Senftenberg site in Brandenburg is considered at risk, with around 800 of the previously remaining 2,400 jobs cut in the last two and a half years alone.

The supervisory board is discussing the difficult situation at DB Cargo, which has been in the red for more than ten years. However, this downsizing course is meeting with resistance. The GDL union fears that DB Cargo is not being reorganised but liquidated, with massive job cuts, train drivers being made redundant, and work left undone.

Source(in German):

Stuttgarter Nachrichten 

POLIS Conference 2025 to take Nov. 26-27 in Utrecht, Netherlands

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The POLIS Team is preparing for the Annual POLIS Conference 2025, hosted by the City of Utrecht.

The conference will focus on innovation and achievement in urban mobility, with 41 priority topics to explore. Speakers are encouraged to share insights, results, and lessons learned from their mobility initiatives.

Abstract submissions are due by 25 April 2025, emphasising the innovative dimension of proposed solutions within a chosen topic. The registration, a draft programme and abstract approval notifications will be available in June 2025.

Stay up to date on the newest developments concerning the POLIS Conference on the POLIS Network Website, by clicking here