A ceremony was held in the German state of Baden-Württemberg on November 11 to mark the start of electrification works on the 17km Schönbuch Railway from Böblingen to Dettenhausen.

COMMERCIAL operations began on the first high-speed line to serve China’s Three Gorges region on November 28 with the opening of the 247km Chongqing - Wanzhou line.

CRRC Corporation confirmed in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 28 that its CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive subsidiary has entered negotiations regarding the potential acquisition of a 100% stake in Škoda Transportation.

LUXEMBOURG Railways (CFL) is planning to launch direct services between Luxembourg and Düsseldorf next year.

WITH just weeks to go before the start of full commercial operations, Switzerland’s Federal Transport Office (BAV) has approved the use of Bombardier Traxx locomotives in the Gotthard Base Tunnel following the installation of an ETCS software update.

SPAIN’s development minister Mr Iñigo de la Serna announced on November 28 that national train operator Renfe has awarded Talgo a contract to supply and maintain up to 30 high-speed trains.

THE president of Turkmenistan Mr Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and his Afghan counterpart Mr Ashraf Ghani attended a ceremony at the Immamnazar border crossing on November 28 to mark the opening of a new rail link between the two countries.

CHINA’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) gave the go-ahead on November 18 for a Yuan 247bn ($US 36bn) project to improve rail links between Beijing and surrounding towns and cities.