David Briginshaw

BRITISH open-access passenger operator First Hull Trains has been granted a 10-year extension to its track access agreement from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) which will enable it to continue running its Hull – London King's Cross service until 2029.

TAIPEI Rapid Transit Corporation has awarded a contract to Thales to upgrade the fare collection on the city's metro network as the first step towards a national integrated system.

HIGH Speed Two Ltd (HS2), which is responsible for implementing Britain's second high-speed line, has appointed a team of consultants to act as its engineering delivery partner for the 190km phase one linking London with Birmingham and Lichfield.

SINGAPORE's Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded a $S 1.99bn ($US 1.46bn) contract to GS Engineering & Construction, Korea, to build what it describes as the world's first four-in-one rail and bus depot.

RAIL has huge potential for growth, but all too often it fails to realise this due to high costs, poor service quality which make it unattractive, or lack of marketing. Rail needs to address these deficiencies and make the most of its strengths, and it needs to do so quickly before autonomous-driving road vehicles make life even harder.

SWEDEN's national infrastructure manager, Trafikverket has awarded a SKr 400m ($US 48.7m) turnkey contract to Skanska to quadruple the track on a 3km section of the Mälarbanan north of Stockholm to increase capacity for commuter services.

SPORVEIEN Oslo, which operates the light rail and metro network in the Norwegian capital, invites companies to prequalify by May 2 for a contract to supply a fleet of low-floor LRVs.

BRITIAN's chancellor of the exchequer Mr George Osborne has allocated funds to advance two new rail projects: High-Speed 3 (HS3) to provide a better link between Manchester and Leeds, and Crossrail 2, a new north-south link through the centre of London.

BRENNER Basistunnel (BBT), which is responsible for building the 64km €8.8bn tunnel under the Brenner pass between Italy and Austria, has selected a consortium led by Astaldi to build the Italian section at a cost of around €1bn.

ANNOUNCING its results for 2015 in Berlin on March 16, German Rail (DB) says revenue increased by 1.9% in 2015 to a record €40.5bn but Ebit plunged by 16.6% to €1.76bn, while DB turned a profit of €988m in 2014 into a loss of €1.3bn in 2015.