GERMAN open-access operator Hamburg-Köln-Express (HKX), owned by Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), United States, is to suspend completely operation of its Hamburg - Cologne service between October 4 and December 10.
DUTCH infrastructure manager Prorail has released details of the 2018 timetable, which starts on December 10 2017, where the country’s 40-plus train operators plan to operate an all-time high of over 160 million train-km. This compares with 125 million train-km in 2003.
THE Swiss Canton of Valais has accepted an offer from BLS to take over the operation of the car shuttle through the Simplon tunnel between Brig and Iselle, Italy, from Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) starting on December 10.
THE first train ran on Israel’s new 57km A1 line linking Tel Aviv with Jerusalem on August 20 from from Tel-Aviv to the end of the Latrun bridge which is now the longest bridge in Israel.
A 70:30 joint venture of FirstGroup and MTR took over Britain’s South Western franchise on August 20 from Stagecoach, which has operated the franchise as South West Trains (SWT) since the start of rail privatisation in 1996.
BOMBARDIER has rolled out the 200th VLocity DMU from its Dandenong factory for Public Transport Victoria for operation on regional services in the Australian state of Victoria.
ITALY’s minister of transport and infrastructure Mr Graziano Delrio has approved funding of €214m for the purchase of 22 mainline trains, five regional trains and seven CAF Urbos LRVs for Calabria.
GERMAN open-access operator Locomore is set to resume services on the Stuttgart - Berlin route on August 24 after Czech open-access operator Leo Express agreed to take over the operations of the insolvent company.
THE Karlsruhe - Basle main line in southwest Germany, one of Europe’s key rail freight arteries, has been closed since August 12 following a major earth movement caused by groundwater entering the construction site of the new 4.27km tunnel being built under Rastatt.
THE government of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has reaffirmed its intention to replace its entire regional rolling stock fleet and has also announced a new depot will be constructed in the regional centre of Dubbo to maintain the new trains.
