Alexander Kava

MR Oleg Valinskiy, vice-president of Russian Railway (RZD), says that RZD will complete the modernisation of the 1067mm-gauge railway on Sakhalin island and its conversion to 1520mm gauge in 2018.

BELARUS Railways (BC) has confirmed it will launch electric passenger services on the line from the capital Minsk to the country's second-largest city Gomel on June 3.

THE first of 37 Budapest metro trains being refurbished by Transmashholding subsidiary Metrowagonmash was presented to Budapest Transport Company (BKV) at the company's plant in Russia on May 11.

BELARUSIA Railway (BC) has completed electrification of the final section of the Minsk - Gomel line between Zhlobin - Gomel, close to the borders with Ukraine and Russia.

UZBEKISTAN Railways (UTY) celebrated a milestone in the construction of the 122.7km Angren - Pap line on February 27, when a ceremony was held to mark the completion of the 19.2km Kamchik Tunnel.

VIS TransStroy, Russia, signed a concession agreement on December 30 to extend Gazprom's Obskaya – Bovanenkovo Yamal Peninsula line, which is already the world's northernmost railway, north to the port of Sabetta on the western shore of the Ob estuary.

STADLER Minsk has rolled out the first of two 1520mm-gauge EPm-001 inter-city EMUs for Belarus Railways (BC).

RUSSIA's largest suburban rail operator Central Suburban Passenger Company (TSPPK) has awarded Transmashholding subsidiary Demikhovsky Machine Building Plant (DMZ) a contract to supply 35 class ED4M-500 EMUs, which are being procured as part of a Roubles 72bn ($US 1bn) project to introduce passenger services on Moscow's Ring Line.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) launched an enhanced peak commuter service on the Moscow - Khimki - Kryukovo - Tver line on October 1 using its new ES2G Lastochka EMUs, which have been supplied by the Ural Locomotives joint venture between Siemens and Sinara.

UKRAINIAN prime minister Mr Arseniy Yatsenyuk officially launched a new regional express service on the 267km Lvov - Ivano-Frankivsk - Chernivtsi route on October 6, which uses Ukrainian Railways' (UZ) prototype DPKr2 DMU.