SPANISH rolling stock manufacturer Talgo has announced details of a long-term plan for the British market, which includes establishing a plant and creating a localised supply chain.

MALAYSIA’s prime minister, Mr Najib Razak, says that land acquisition has started for the construction of the 350km high-speed linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, while three months of public consultation to allow people to comment on the project will begin on November 1.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) said on October 11 that the number of passengers using TGV services to travel between Paris and Toulouse has doubled since the opening of the Sud Europe Atlantique high-speed line on July 2.

THE Lithuanian parliament voted on October 10 in favour the Rail Baltica project to build an 870km standard-gauge 240km/h mixed-traffic railway linking the Baltic state capitals with Poland and the broader European railway network, thereby completing the ratification of the project.

A consortium led by German Rail (DB) has emerged as the frontrunner in a tender to select an “early train operator” for the California high-speed rail network.

TEXAS Central, the developer of a project to build a privately-funded high-speed line between Dallas and Houston, announced on October 5 that it has appointed WSP to provide engineering support as the scheme moves into the pre-construction phase.

SPANISH airline Air Nostrum is planning to launch open-access high-speed services from Madrid to Barcelona and Montpellier next year in competition with incumbent operator Renfe.

IRJ at Expo Ferroviaria, Milan: The first of 12 Evo Pendolino trains being built by Alstom for Italian open-access high-speed operator NTV was presented to the company’s president Mr Luca Cordell Montezemelo and CEO Mr Flavio Cattaneo at the Expo Ferroviaria exhibition in Milan on October 3.

CENTRAL Japan Railway Company (JR Central) previewed its next generation Shinkansen train, the N700S, on October 1, when journalists were invited to view a driving car bodyshell and interior mock-ups at the Nippon Sharyo plant in Toyokawa in Aichi prefecture.

THAILAND’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has released a 20-year masterplan for rail development worth more than Baht 2.7 trillion ($US 81.57bn).