Dan Templeton

NOKIA has been selected by Korea Rail Network Authority (KRNA) to supply the world’s first LTE-R mobile broadband network to support main line railway operations and employee services. The system will be deployed on the 250km/h Wonju - Gangneung line in preparation for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

GERMAN open-access operator Locomore announced on November 11 that it has begun to sell advanced tickets for its new service on the Stuttgart - Frankfurt - Hannover - Berlin line, which will be will operate once, daily, in each direction from December 14.

HACKTRAIN’s third annual hackathon, which seeks to solve issues within the rail industry through innovation, took place from November 4-6 on two separate journeys, one across Britain and another across Europe.

THE Shift2Rail joint undertaking announced on November 8 that the final agreement relating to the 2015-16 call for proposals had been signed.

 THE cost of modernising Britain’s Great Western Main Line (GWML) has risen by £2.1bn more than originally planned in 2013 to £5.58bn, according to a damning report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) on November 9.

BRITAIN’s Rail Minister Mr Paul Maynard MP announced on November 8 that after scrutiny from the Hendy review, he and the Department for Transport (DfT) have decided to defer four key elements of the troubled Great Western Main Line (GWML) electrification programme.

BULGARIA’s Transport Ministry announced on November 7 that it has launched a project for the construction of a 23km double-track railway connecting its capital Sofia with the town of Ellin Pelin.

AZERBAIJAN Railways (ADY) announced on November 7 that it has completed the 8.3km line from Astara to the Iranian border on the western shore of the Caspian Sea.

CHINA Railway Corporation (CRC) announced on November 7 that China’s rail freight volume rose for a third successive month in October, to a 21-month high.

SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) has exercised an option worth SFr 32m ($US 32.8m) for three more LRZ 18 firefighting, rescue and recovery trains, it was announced on November 3.