Quintus Vosman

DUTCH secretary of state for infrastructure Mrs Wilma Mansveld signed 10-year concession agreements on December 15 with Netherlands Railways (NS) for the operation of the so-called core network and with ProRail for the management of the country's mainline rail infrastructure.

THE Bavarian Railway Authority (BEG) has signed a direct award contract with DB Regio subsidiary Südostbayernbahn for the operation of regional services on the so-called Mühldorf Star network, which encompasses non-electrified lines in southeastern Bavaria from December 2015.

DUTCH secretary of state for infrastructure Mrs Wilma Mansveld has announced that the government will grant €200m to South Holland to extend the R-Net network of high-quality public transport services around the Randstad conurbation.

THE installation of ERTMS on the Betuweroute dedicated freight line between the port of Rotterdam and the German border was finally completed on December 8, when the section between Zevenaar, Netherlands, and Emmerich, Germany, switched to ETCS from the legacy Dutch ATB train protection system.

LITHUANIAN Railways (LG) has placed an order with Škoda Vagonka for an additional three class 575 1520mm-gauge double-deck City Elefant EMUs for €27.2m.

BRU, the regional public transport authority in the Dutch city of Utrecht has selected preferred bidders for infrastructure and rolling stock contracts for the Uithof Line, an 8km light rail line linking Utrecht Central station with the university campuses at De Uithof in the east of the city.

THALYS is now authorised to operate passenger services on high-speed and conventional lines in France under its own safety certification after the French Railway Safety Board (EPSF) granted the operator a certificate Part B, which demonstrates the operator complies with national safety provisions.

THE German federal government has approved a draft amendment of the federal railway act by transport minister Mr Alexander Dobrindt which is intended to pave the way for major changes in the authorisation and commissioning of new rolling stock.

CZECH open-access long-distance operator RegioJet has taken delivery of the first of three Siemens Vectron locomotives, which are being leased from European Locomotive Leasing (ELL) under a five-year contract.