GERMANY’s newest open-access passenger operator, Locomore, launched its first service linking Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Hannover and Berlin on December 14.

THE European Parliament voted to adopt the market pillar of the Fourth Railway Package at a plenary session in Strasbourg on December 14 in the final stage of a legislative process which will open Europe’s railway sector to greater competition.

THE European Investment Bank (EIB) and Rotterdam Electric Tram (RET) have signed a €120m loan agreement to support investment in new Bombardier metro trains and to renew signalling and safety systems on the metro network.

A second rail link between London and Oxford was completed on December 11 with the start of a new 30-minute-interval service operated by Chiltern Railways.

ITALIAN State Railways (FS) announced on December 12 that it has purchased 36.7% of Astaldi’s shares in Milan’s Metro M5 consortium for €64.5m.

MASSACHUSETTS Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board voted on December 12 to order 120 additional metro cars from CRRC Corporation subsidiary CRRC MA at a cost of $US 280m.

MUNICH’s tram network was extended to the district of Steinhausen on December 10, when the city’s mayor Mr Dieter Reiter and Mr Ingo Wortmann, CEO of Munich Transport (MVG) inaugurated the 2.8km extension of Line 25 from Max Weber Platz to Berg am Laim S-Bahn station.

POLISH bus and tram manufacturer Solaris and Stadler announced on December 9 that they are creating a joint venture in Poland.

MALAYSIAN prime minister Mr Najib Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Mr Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the signing of a bilateral agreement at the Malayisan prime minister’s retreat in Putrajaya on December 13, which commits the two countries to complete the Kuala Lumpur - Singapore high-speed line within a decade.