BRITAIN's prime minister Mr David Cameron has announced plans today to invest an additional £4.2bn to upgrade key sections of the rail network in England and Wales between 2014 and 2019 on top of the £5.2bn already committed for projects currently underway such as Crossrail and Thameslink.
AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) CEO Mr Christian Kern recently announced that ÖBB results for the first six months of 2012 are better than expected. If the economic situation remains stable he expects ÖBB to return to profit in 2012, a year earlier than previously predicted.
TRANSNET, South Africa, revealed impressive results for the 2011-12 financial year on July 10, and pledged that even in the worst economic scenario, it will proceed with the bulk of its Rand 300bn ($US 26bn) capital investment programme.
AFTER years of delays, the Dutch Environmental and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) finally granted authorisation to place into service for the AnsaldoBreda V250 'Fyra' high-speed train fleet on July 6.
POMERANIAN Metropolitan Railway (PKM) has invited bids for the contract to design and build a 17km double-track line that will link Gdansk and Gdynia with Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport.
GERMANY's first long-distance open-access passenger operator Hamburg-Cologne Express (HKX) today launched online ticket sales for its first services, and announced it will begin commercial operations on July 23.
FOLLOWING his resignation as CEO of Austrian open-access passenger operator Westbahn at the beginning of June, Dr Stefan Wehinger has sold his shares in parent company Rail Holding to the other three shareholders.
DANISH transport authority Trafikstyrelsen granted permission on July 2 for Danish State Railways (DSB) to return its AnsaldoBreda IC4 inter-city dmus to revenue service, although the future of the troubled fleet remains in the balance.
THE busy Gotthard line through Switzerland reopens today after a break of four weeks caused by a rock fall at Gurtnellen. Freight trains will be able to run to their normal schedule from this evening, followed by passenger services from tomorrow.
Since the abandonment of Florida's Tampa - Orlando project last year, California has been left to fly the flag for high-speed rail in North America. Keith Barrow examines recent changes to the plans for this pioneering venture.
