EUROPEAN Union transport ministers agreed on October 8 to allow open-access passenger operators to compete with incumbent national railways from 2020 as well as reforms to the way subsidised services are provided.

MALAYSIA's Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) and Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) have issued a request for information (RFI) for the proposed Kuala Lumpur - Singapore high-speed project.

Since the first phase opened in 2002, Copenhagen's metro has contributed significantly to improved transport in the city and stimulated eye-catching housing and business developments in Ørestad. With work now well underway on the Cityring project, which is due to enter service in 2019, Kevin Smith visited Metroselskabet to get an update on construction and plans for further expansion.

Utah Transit Agency (UTA) has a track record of delivering transit projects ahead of schedule and under budget. Michael Allegra, UTA's recently-retired president and CEO, reveals the secrets of UTA's success and its future ambitions in an exclusive interview with Kevin Smith.

THE steering committee of Italian open-access high-speed operator NTV met at its headquarters in Rome on October 1 to deliberate on the next steps and future goals for the company, including an order for new trains and an increase in the company's capital.

INDONESIA's National Development Planning Ministry says an offer has been accepted from a Chinese consortium to build a new 140km railway between Jakarta and Bandung after Japanese bidders were forced to concede that they could not meet Indonesia's demands for no-strings finance for the $US 5bn project.

A STUDY commissioned by Dutch infrastructure manager Prorail has found that the quality of concrete used on some parts of the HSL South high-speed line between Amsterdam and the Belgian border may be of inferior quality and the technical life of some structures could be considerably shorter than originally envisaged.

THE Valladolid - Palencia - León high-speed line was opened to traffic on September 30, a day after it was officially inaugurated by Spanish prime minister Mr Mariano Rajoy and less than a week after the opening date was confirmed.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) began dynamic testing on the second phase of TGV Est on September 28, when a 10-car TGV Duplex set ran at speeds of up to 160km/h over the 106km extension from Baudrecourt to Vendenheim.

CHINA's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved the construction of three new lines representing a total investment of Yuan 109.3bn ($US 17.2bn) on September 28, as the government seeks to reverse a slowdown in economic growth by boosting spending on infrastructure projects.