KIWIRAIL has launched its refurbished Tranz Alpine passenger train which has been re-equipped with new passenger coaches built at the Hillside workshops in Dunedin.

THE German state of Bavaria, through its transport authority Bavarian Railways (BEG), has called for bids for the operation of passenger rail services on the Weissenhorn – Senden – Ulm line under a three-year concession.

TENDERS have been invited by PKP Intercity, Poland, to conduct what is termed a Level 4 revision to 271 passenger coaches of 23 types. The closing date for bids is January 15.

KYRGYZSTAN Railways' (KTZ) director general Mr Argyhbek Malabaev says that the railway is aiming to complete a final comprehensive feasibility study by the end of 2013 for a new cross-country electrified line that will open up the country to transit traffic between China, the Persian Gulf and Europe.

QUEEN Beatrix of the Netherlands officially inaugurated the 50km Hanze Line at Lelystad station today. The queen then boarded the royal train for Zwolle stopping en route at Dronten and Kampen South.

THREE main causes have been identified for the failure of the West Coast Main Line franchise competition by an inquiry conducted by Mr Sam Laidlaw, CEO of Centrica and a non-executive board member of the Department for Transport (DfT).

BRITAIN's Department for Transport (DfT) has signed a 23-month management contract with Virgin Trains to operate long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line linking London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.

POLISH train and terminal operators have joined forces with other industry organisations to establish the Foundation for Railways (FPK), a new group which will plans to lobby the country's government to develop a more coherent policy on rail transport.

THE twin-bore Katzenberg tunnel on the line between Freiburg im Breisgau and Basle was formally inaugurated on December 4 with an ICE-T emu and a freight train passing the through the tunnel and arriving simultaneously at the southern portals.

THE government of Liechtenstein has agreed to commit €45m towards a €90m scheme to upgrade a section of railway in the principality as part of the S-Bahn Flach project, which will see the introduction of half-hourly regular-interval regional services between Feldkirch, Austria, and Buchs in Switzerland.