BOMBARDIER Transportation opened its new final-assembly hall in Bautzen, Germany, on June 15 after investing €30m in the site.

AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Netherlands Railways (NS) are developing plans to reintroduce sleeper trains to Amsterdam, which was severed from the European night train network by the contraction and eventual abandonment of German Rail's (DB) City Night Line services.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has reportedly shelved its planned high-speed service between London, Cologne and Frankfurt, citing changes in the economic environment for its cancellation of the proposed service.

THE French Railway Safety Board (ESPF) has granted an authorisation for the operation of the 200km/h variant of Bombardier’s Régio 2N double-deck EMU for operation on the French main line network.

TWO million passengers have used German Rail’s (DB) Berlin - Munich high-speed line within six months of the opening of the final section of the line, more than double the amount traveling on the old line during the same period last year.

ITALY’s Puglia region signed a concession agreement with Trenitalia in Bari on June 13 to operate regional rail services. This is Italy’s first 15-year regional rail concession.

THE interurban passenger line under construction between Mexico City and Toluca has reached a milestone with the first of two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) breaking through the 4.7km long twin-bore Vía Derecha tunnel on June 14.

A MAJORITY in the Danish parliament has approved an earlier agreement allowing Danish State Railways (DSB) to proceed with its DKr 11bn ($US 1.7bn) new rolling stock procurement plan.

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) confirmed on June 15 that is has selected Siemens Mobility for a £1.5bn contract to design and build 94 new-generation Deep Tube trains to replace the entire Piccadilly Line fleet.

GERMAN Rail (DB) presented one of the first Pesa Link DMUs to the public at the DB Regio depot in Dortmund on June 14, two years later than scheduled.