CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles plans to start a six-month testing programme with China's first hybrid-power train at the China Academy of Railway Sciences in June. The train is currently undergoing technical debugging in Jilin province.

Jerusalem's inaugural light rail line has reported impressive ridership figures since it opened in 2011. Kevin Smith visits the Israeli capital to speak with the people involved with this sometimes controversial project and to find out about the city's plans to further expand light rail's reach.

The Turkish government is investing heavily in its railway as it aims to deliver a modern network by 2023. Turkish State Railways (TCDD) is inevitably playing a critical role in delivering various projects and TCDD's assistant general director Ismail Murtazaoglu met Kevin Smith in Ankara to discuss progress so far.

ALBTAL Transport Company (AVG) and Karlsruhe Transport Authority (VBK) have awarded a €59.5m contract to Bombardier for a further 12 Flexity Swift ET 2010 tram-trains.

POLAND's National Centre for Research and Develoment (NCBiR) has agreed to provide funding for a project by Newag to develop what it describes as "the first worldwide family of autonomous, configurable bi-mode passenger rail vehicles compliant with Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI)."

ZÜRICH City Council and the Transport Council of the Canton of Zürich have approved the acquisition of 70 metre-gauge Flexity 2 LRVs from Bombardier to replace the ageing Tram 2000 fleet introduced in the 1970s.

DENMARK's largest rail freight operator DB Cargo Scandinavia (DBCS) has warned it could be forced to pull out of the market because of the cost of equipping its locomotives with ETCS.

FOUR companies will finally compete for a framework contract to supply and maintain a fleet of up to 30 very high-speed trains in the first open tender launched by Spanish national train operator Renfe in more than a decade.

Railroad Development Corporation, United States, is continuing to increase its footprint in the European market. RDC chairman, Henry Posner III, outlines the company's recent experiences to Keith Fender.

SHANGHAI Shentong Metro Group has awarded a €46m contract to Alstom to modernise 68 metro cars operating on Line 5 of the Shanghai metro and to supply traction equipment for 198 new cars.