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BELGIAN infrastructure manager Infrabel and renewable energy company Enfinity have today switched on a unique solar farm, which is built on a shelter over the Antwerp - Breda high-speed line near Brasschaat.

THE WORLD BANK has approved a $US 975m loan agreement with the Indian government to help fund the 1839km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) from Ludhiana to Dankuni near Kolkata.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) has signed preliminary contracts worth around Euros 2bn with a joint venture of Siemens and Sinara Group, Russia, for 240 five-car Desiro Rus regional emus.

THE SPANISH city of Murcia celebrated to completion of its first light rail line on May 28, with the launch of services over the entire 18km length of Line 1.

AFTER four decades of discussions and development, Japan's transport minister gave the go-ahead on May 27 for Central Japan Railway (JR Central) to begin construction on the Chuo Shinkansen Maglev line between Tokyo and Osaka, which will relieve the parallel Tokaido Shinkansen from 2027.

A consortium led by Impregilo has been provisionally awarded a Euros 1.7bn contact to build and operate for 24 years the new Line 4 of the Milan metro. The consortium, which includes Astaldi, Ansaldo STS, AnsaldoBreda, Sirti, and Milan Transport (ATM), came first in the evaluation of both the technical and financial offers.

GRAND Paris, the public body set up last year to implement a 175km network of automatic metro lines serving the French capital and its suburbs, has defined the routes for the new lines. The project will be completed in three phases up to 2025, when it is expected to attract an additional 2 million passengers to rail transport.

TRANSPORT ministers from the 52 member countries attending the International Transport Forum (ITF) annual summit in Leipzig, Germany, this week have chosen Ms Carole Coune to succeed Mr Jack Short as secretary general.

THE government-commissioned report by Sir Roy McNulty into the cost of running Britain’s railways comes to the damning conclusion that British taxpayers and passengers have been paying far more than necessary since the catastrophic Hatfield derailment in 2000, caused by poor track maintenance which led to an explosion in costs and the eventual collapse of Railtrack. Overall McNulty says Britain’s railways cost 40% more than they should and this must be cut by 30% within seven years.