BERLIN senator for urban development and the environment Mr Andreas Geisel confirmed on December 9 that the Senate has selected DB Regio subsidiary S-Bahn Berlin as preferred bidder for a contract to operate the Berlin S-Bahn Ring/South East group of lines for 15 years from 2021.

SWEDEN's enterprise minister Mr Mikael Damberg drove the inaugural train through the 8.7km Hallandsås tunnel on December 9. Construction of what is now the cournty's longest tunnel started as long ago as 1992.

ESTEL RA, a joint venture of Algerian Railways (SNTF) and Siemens, has secured a contract to supply signalling, safety and control systems, including ETCS, for the 140km Algiers RER commuter rail network which is operated by SNTF.

BRITAIN's Department for Transport (DfT) announced on December 9 that it has selected Arriva as preferred bidder for the Northern franchise, while TransPennine Express will be awarded to First Group.

PLANS to upgrade Geneva's main railway station at Cornavin by constructing an underground extension with two tracks took a step forward yesterday with the signing of a general agreement by representatives of the Swiss Federal Office of Transport and the city and Canton of Geneva.

STOCKHOLM County Council announced on December 8 that it has selected MTR Nordic, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong's MTR Corporation, for a concession to operate the Stockholm Pendeltåg suburban rail network for 10 years from December 2016.

Private concessionaire FCCA, which has been operating and maintaining the world's second-highest railway in Peru since 1999, has invested heavily in both the infrastructure and its fleet. As Keith Fender reports, from Peru, this is now paying off as freight traffic has more than doubled and the railway is making an operating profit.

THE 1776km high-speed line from Lanzhou to Urumqi in the Xinjiang region of northwest China must rank alongside the Qinghai Tibet Railway as one China's greatest engineering achievements of recent years. The 31-station line crosses the Gobi desert and the Qilian Mountains, reaching a summit of 3607m above sea level in the Qilianshan No 2 Tunnel, making it the world's highest high-speed line.

CHINA's Exim Bank has agreed to provide $US 1.5bn to fund 85% of the cost of extending the 609km Mombasa – Nairobi standard-gauge line currently under construction 120km north to Naivasha, while the Kenya government will fund the remaining 15%.

CANADIAN Pacific (CP) made a further move in its bid to merge with Norfolk Southern (NS) on December 8, seeking to quell shareholders' concerns over financial terms and regulatory approval.