CHINA's premier Wen Jiabao has announced a three-point plan to improve railway safety in the wake of the fatal high-speed train crash near Wenzhou on July 23 in which 40 people died and 191 were injured. The objective is to strengthen the current investigation into the cause of the accident to not only identify the direct cause but also the source of the problem, while at the same time learning lessons from it. As a result, the government says the investigation team is being strengthened.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) has agreed terms of reference with Transmashholding for a contract to supply a fleet of 160km/h double-deck inter-regional trains.

TAIWAN's Railway Reconstruction Bureau (RRB) has submitted two route proposals to the government for a direct line between Taipei and Toucheng on the island's east coast.

BNSF Railway continued to generate healthy returns for parent company Berkshire Hathaway in the second quarter, with net profits rising to $US 690 million, an increase of 14.4% compared with the same period in 2010.

CANADIAN National (CN) has revealed plans to invest $US 165 million in its main Chicago freight yard in a move which will centralise the railway's shunting operations on a single hub.

DANISH infrastructure manager Banedanmark has awarded Siemens a Euros 252m contract to install communications-based train control (CBTC) on the Copenhagen S-Train network in the first phase of a Euros 3.2bn project to resignal the entire Danish mainline railway network by 2021.

RIDERSHIP on the Taipei - Kaohsiung high-speed line reached an all-time high of 3.7 million passengers last month, according to figures announced this week by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC).

BANGLADESH Railway (BR) has awarded CNR subsidiary Tangshan Railway Vehicle, China, a $US 58.3m contract to supply 20 metre-gauge dmus for commuter services.

GENESEE & Wyoming (G&W) is to further expand its portfolio of shortline and regional railways after signing an agreement with Iowa Pacific Holdings to purchase the Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER) for a cash sum of $US 90.1m.

THE Russian government has announced plans to sell 75% minus two shares in Russian Railways' (RZD) freight subsidiary First Freight Company in one lot at a public auction.