THE government of the German state of North Rhine Westphalia has signed three financing and implementation agreements with Rhineland Transport Authority (NVR) and German Rail (DB) for the long-planned extension of Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn Line S13 from Troisdorf to Bonn Oberkassel.

GENERAL sluggishness in the global economy and softening thermal coal prices continue to create uncertainty for proponents of major coal mines and associated rail infrastructure in the Galilee Basin region in the north of the Australian state of Queensland.

TRENITALIA launched the first high-speed services to Rome Leonardo da Vinci airport on December 14, when selected Frecciargento services were extended to serve the airport station at Fiumicino.

NEW train schedules were launched across Europe on December 14, and according to the December issue of the European Rail Timetable, the improvements outnumber the number of services being withdrawn.

A committee has been set up by Mexico's lower house policy board to investigate the tendering and subsequent cancellation of the contract to build the 210km Mexico City – Queretaro high-speed line.

CSR confirmed on December 15 that it has been awarded a contract worth around Yuan 1.7bn ($US 270m) to supply 100 diesel locomotives and 3500 wagons of various types as part of the reconstruction of Argentina's Belgrano Cargas network.

BASLE Transport Authority (BVB) celebrated the opening of the city's first light rail link into Germany on December 14 with a day of free rides on the northern extension of Line 8 from Kleinhüningen to Weil-am-Rhein in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

POLISH long-distance operator PKP Intercity launched its new EIC Premium services on December 14, marking the entry into passenger service of its Alstom ED250 Pendolino EMUs.

UKRANIAN Railways (UZ) launched a new 160km/h daily service on December 12 from Kiev to Krivoy Rog, a city with a population of 700,000 in the Dnepropetrovsk region.

THE extension of the Salzburg Local Railway (SLB) from Trimmelkam to Ostermeithing was inaugurated on December 12 by the deputy governor of Upper Austria Mr Reinhold Entholzer and Salzburg provincial minister for transport and infrastructure Mr Hans Mayr.