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THE 630km high-speed line from Turin and Milan to Naples has moved a step closer to completion after Italian Rail Network (RFI) announced it has completed construction of the Gricignano - Naples section. The 19km line is also the final section of the Rome - Salerno high-speed line to be completed, and will open on December 13, when Rome - Naples journey times will fall from 1h 45min to 1h 5min.

SWEDEN was the birthplace in the 1980s of one of the biggest and most controversial changes in the way railways are run - the separation of infrastructure management from train operations. Sweden is now pioneering an equally-controversial reform by merging the management of the national road and rail networks into one body along with the planning for roads, railways, airports and ports and the links between them.

 

The European Commission says 21 European Union member states have still not fully adopted key legislation on liberalisation, years after it was due to be implemented. Keith Barrow examines the obstacles blocking the First Railway Package.

 

The world market for rail equipment will grow during the next four years despite the economic crisis says Maria Leenen (pictured), CEO of SCI Verkehr, Germany, in an exclusive interview with David Briginshaw.

 

CZECH Railways (CD) freight subsidiary CD Cargo has edged back into profitability, posting a third-quarter pre-tax profit of CKr 6 million ($US 334,000), after making a CKr 371 million loss in the first half of the year. Volumes reached 17.6 million tonnes in the third quarter, a 14% rise over the second quarter, while revenues rose to CKr 3.4 billion.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has awarded a contract to Alstom for a new design of regional train which could eventually reach 1000 trains worth around Euros 7 billion by 2021. The fleet would be operated in 20 French regions under the name Régiolis.

CANADIAN National has given a boost to North America's struggling diesel locomotive industry with the announcement that it has ordered a total of 70 high-power locomotives from GE and EMD. CN will receive an additional 35 ES44DC locomotives (pictured) from GE in the fourth quarter of next year, while a batch of 35 SD70M-2s will be delivered by EMD from January 2011.

NEW ZEALAND'S national railway KiwiRail Group has posted a loss of $NZ 187 million ($US 141 million) for first year of operations as an integrated company owning both the 4000km network and operating the country's freight and passenger services.

CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock, China has shipped three 1520mm-gauge emus to Georgian Railway (GRZhD). The order placed in August 2007 comprises two two-car trains and one eight-car train, which is formed of four motor and four trailer vehicles. The 3kV dc emus, which have a maximum operating speed of 130km/h, will arrive in Georgia at the end of next month.

AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) Infrastructure says it will invite tenders next month for the main section of the Koralm tunnel, the centrepiece of the Euros 5.1 billion Koralm line between Graz and Klagenfurt.