RDC Deutschland, the German subsidiary of Railroad Development Corporation, United States, has begun trial operation of its new Autozug Sylt car and lorry carrying trains on the 39.3km Niebüll - Westerland (Sylt) line in Schleswig Holstein.

SWEDISH train leasing company Transitio has awarded Motala Train, Sweden, a contract to carry out heavy maintenance on its fleet of 25 class X11 EMUs, which are primarily used by regional operators Krösatågen and Norrtåg.

CHINA's top economic planning authority the National Development and Reform Commission approved a construction plan on December 31 for the Yuan 65.4bn ($US 9.9bn) second phase of the metro network in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, a day after testing began on the first section of Line 1.

AS the three-year extension granted by Congress in late 2015 gets underway, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) has set year-end 2016 goals for Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation in the United States.

GERMANY's Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neumünster Railway (AKN) has taken delivery of the last of 14 Coradia Lint 54 DMUs, which were ordered from Alstom in 2013 in a deal worth €60m.

LIVERPOOL passenger transport executive Merseytravel announced on January 11 that five bidders have been shortlisted for a contract to supply around 50 dual-voltage EMUs for the 120.7km Merseyrail suburban network.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) carried fewer passengers and less freight in 2015 according to operational data released by the railway on January 11.

ROMANIAN national passenger operator CFR Calatori says it is planning to order five new inter-regional EMUs this year for use on recently-upgraded routes including Bucharest to Constanta, Brasov, and Craiova.

HAMBURG U-Bahn operator Hamburger Hochbahn has exercised an option worth around €100m with Alstom for a further 27 DT5 trains.

SWEDISH open-access operator and traction provider Hector Rail has acquired 15 six-axle class 151 freight locomotives from DB Schenker with the aim of offering railfreight operators a cost-effective alternative to leasing new locomotives.