Meanwhile in Polish regional rail, it looks like the government is working on removing the article adding an absolute requirement for voivodeships to put trains to tender when the IV railway package obligations come into force. As a reminder, this tighter requirement was added to its national implementation here in exchange for the EU allowing a bailout of Polregio a decade ago - with its removal, voivodeships would be allowed to hand lots over to their own companies - and about half of all voivodeships has one now, though not necessarily a working one yet - as allowed by the EU regulation.

Unsurprisingly, Allrail, the private passenger railway undertakings' organization, is rather unhappy about this, as it is with the short, one week, consultation period. Additionally, it remains unclear whether this was actually agreed with the Commission (though I doubt they'd stand in the way): https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/powierzenie-dla-przewoznikow-wojewodzkich-jednak-zostanie-allrail-nie-uchylajmy-tej-furtki-127642.html

#kolej #RegionalRail #rail #Poland

NSW's Long-Distance Train Dream Runs Three Years Behind Schedule

#NSWTrains #RegionalRail #NSWPolitics #PublicTransport #AusNews

https://thedailyperspective.org/article/2026-03-03-nsws-long-distance-train-dream-runs-three-years-behind-schedule-ad8d6055

Kinda interesting day at Rynek Kolejowy today, here's some of the stories:
First, a reminder to those who don't dig into yearly timetables (that sorta includes me too) - trains will be replaced by buses from the March timetable change until the end of August between Jasło and Krosno in Subcarpathia. This is in addition to the existing closures further down the line to Zagórz and Ustrzyki, where the voivodeship opted to cancel the trains, arguing that the existing bus offer is sufficient and paying for train replacement buses would have been a waste of money: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/podkarpackie-autobusy-zastepcze-do-zagorza-to-niegospodarnosc--126399.html

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#kolej #pkp #podkarpackie #polregio #rail #RegionalRail

Chicago's Massive Bet on Regional Rail

https://urbanists.video/w/gF6gnNRwcW6QMVxJvas98Y

Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

https://www.hsrail.org/blog/caltrain-shows-why-every-region-should-be-moving-toward-regional-rail/

#HackerNews #Caltrain #RegionalRail #Transportation #Sustainability #PublicTransit

And in Polish railway bullshit, I keep finding new kinds of substandard timetables - like here in Żulin (I feel like I shouldn't find the name funny :/), a formerly full-blown station where the last train from Lublin was moved earlier this #RailwayNewYear and now departs 15:54 for a 16:40 departure onwards from there. After that, there's another Regio pair (and another train north on weekends and another IC south, but that wouldn't stop here no matter what) which passes this and one other halt nearby which is NOT a demand stop, but starts stopping everywhere from Krasnystaw.

#Lubelskie #Polregio #PKP #PLK #Kolej #RozkładJazdy #Timetable #RegionalRail

I like that headline: Podlachia: Another Declaration Of End Of Rolling Stock Issues

(It got bad enough that they were running short DMUs on mainline EMU routes. After they said they would have it all under control half a year ago)

https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/podlaskie-jest-kolejna-deklaracja-konca-problemow-taborowych--126033.html

#Kolej #Podlaskie #Polregio #rail #RegionalRail

Aaaaand apparently, the Lublin Voivodeship followed Lubusz in voting to set up their own train company - Lubelskie Koleje (surely that's an error, right? That's not how word order works in proper names in Polish) - today: https://www.lubelskie.pl/aktualnosci/xviii-sesja-sejmiku-wojewodztwa-lubelskiego-2/ (this is just an agenda link, I learned of it via SkyscraperCity but couldn't get the session recording myself, so this will have to do)

cc @smveerman

#Kolej #PolRegio #LubelskieKoleje #Rail #regionalRail #Lubelskie