THALYS announced on June 19 that it will launch direct services between Brussels and Bordeaux next summer, connecting the Belgian capital with the Atlantic coast in little over four hours.

FRANKFURT Transport (VGF) has signed a contract worth around €100m with Alstom for the supply of 38 Citadis trams with special adaptations for the German market, including an option for 15 additional vehicles.

SIEMENS unveiled the first Inspiro metro train for Bangkok at its consortium partner Bozankaya’s factory in Ankara on June 19, the first of 22 new four-car sets for the Thai capital’s Green Line extension.

IRELAND’S Public Service Obligation (PSO) services saw an increase in both funding and passenger numbers last year, the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) statistical bulletin shows, with rail accounting for a third of passenger journeys.

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has activated a two-year contract extension with British Steel for the supply of rails to London Underground, which will include the supply of two new rail types.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has begun the fleet rollout of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based solution for monitoring the status of passenger train doors.

THE latest section of Nizhniy Novgorod’s metro connecting the city centre to the newly-built Nizhniy Novgorod Stadium opened on June 13, less than a week before the Russian city hosted its first match of the 2018 World Cup between Sweden and South Korea on June 18.

A lack of electrification on German cross-border rail routes is making it difficult for rail to compete with heavy goods vehicles (HGV) for a bigger market share of international freight movements through the country, the Berlin-based Pro-Rail Alliance (APS) says.

THE new CTrail Hartford Line commuter rail service, which connects New Haven, Hartford and Springfield in Connecticut, opened on June 16.

HELSINKI City Transport (HKL) has exercised an option to order another 10 ForCity Smart Artic trams from Transtech Oy, a subsidiary of Škoda Transportation, in addition to the 60 it had previously ordered.