200 Years of Railways – Time for the UK to Empower Regions and Encourage Competition
200 years ago, the world’s first train ran between Stockton and Darlington – a private initiative that showed how bold ideas could transform mobility and society. As the UK celebrates this anniversary, the government plans to centralise the system under Great British Railways (GBR). But with no clear KPIs, untested promises of savings, and fares set to rise by a whopping 5.8% next March, a giant new public body risks delivering less choice and little innovation.
ALLRAIL attends the 2025 AFRA Conference
Our Legal Officer, Guillem Ochoa, attended the 2025 annual conference of the Association Française du Rail (AFRA) – the French Association representing new entrants in passenger and freight rail.
In data: Domestic or international? Belgium debates who gets rail priority
Commenting on Belgium’s proposed ‘domestic-first’ rule for train paths, ALLRAIL said it “breaches non-discriminatory access and limits passenger choice, Belgium should expand capacity, not restrict it.”
ALLRAIL mentioned in The Railway Dictionary of Mediarail.be
France: Launch of 1st Competitively Tendered Regional PSO Rail Concession Operated by an Independent Operator
We warmly congratulate the independent operator Transdev and the French Région Sud (South Region) on the official launch of the Marseille-Toulon-Nice passenger rail service on 29 June 2025.
This is the first time in France that a regional Public Service Obligation ("PSO") rail concession has been awarded to and is operated by an independent operator, following a competitive tender.
This is a major milestone in EU rail reform.