AMTRAK inaugurated a new daily passenger service from Roanoke, Virginia, to Boston on October 31, marking the return of passenger trains to Roanoke for the first time in 38 years.

RHINE-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) has awarded DB Regio NRW a four-year extension to its contract to operate three lines of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn network.

POLAND’s largest rail freight operator PKP Cargo has reached an agreement with Minezit SE to acquire its remaining 20% stake in Czech rail freight operator Advanced World Cargo (AWT).

CRRC Tangshan Railway Company has unveiled a prototype low-floor LRV powered by Canadian supplier Ballard Power Systems’ hydrogen fuel cell technology, FCveloCity which it is trialling on the new 14km light rail line in Tangshan, China.

CITY of Edinburgh Council has begun tendering for contracts to extend the city’s light rail line from its current city centre terminus at York Place to Leith and Newhaven.

NANJING opened its second tram line on October 31, when trial passenger operation began on the 9.1km Qilin Line in the east of the city.

AFTER six years of construction, excavation of North Africa’s longest railway tunnel was completed on the morning of October 30, when Algeria’s minister of public works Mr Abdelghani Zalène witnessed the breakthrough on the final section of the Gantas Tunnel.

IN what is claimed to be a world first, Dutch infrastructure manager Prorail has completed a programme to make all stations on the Netherlands’ national rail network accessible to passengers who are blind or visually-impared.

TRANSPORT for Wales announced on October 30 that Arriva has confirmed its intention to withdraw from the competition for the new Wales & Borders franchise.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 28 to mark the official start of construction on an SFr 1bn ($US 1bn) project to expand Berne Main Station, the second-largest station in Switzerland.