PASSENGER numbers on Russian Railways's (RZD) flagship Sapsan services reached 1.88 million in the first half of this year, a 26.4% increase compared with the same period in 2014, according to ridership figures released on July 13.

TRIAL operation began on China's most northerly high-speed line on July 13, when a CRH5 EMU was used for a maiden test run on the 281km Harbin - Qiqihar line in Heilongjiang province.

SIEMENS and Sinara celebrated the fifth anniversary of their Ural Locomotives Russian joint venture on July 9 by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which will pave the way for the assembly of high-speed trains at its Verkhnaya Pyshma plant near Yekaterinburg.

IRJ at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress, Tokyo: FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) president Mr Guillaume Pepy has urged high-speed rail operators to fight back against the growing threat to their business from other transport modes by embracing innovation to meet the needs of passengers.

IRJ at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress, Tokyo: MOROCCAN National Railways (ONCF) has confirmed that Africa's first high-speed line will open in spring 2018, two-and-a-half years later than originally scheduled.

IRJ at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress, Tokyo: CONSTRUCTION of Saudi Arabia's Haramain high-speed line is back on schedule and services will be running on the entire route within 18 months, according to Renfe, which will operate the 450km line from Mecca to Jeddah and Medina.

IRJ at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress, Tokyo: THE prime minister of Japan, Mr Shinzo Abe, addressed the 1200 delegates attending the opening session of the ninth UIC world congress on high-speed rail which opened in Tokyo on July 7.

MTR says the Express Rail Link project to construct a high-speed line from West Kowloon in Hong Kong to the Chinese border and Shenzhen is expected to exceed its budget by 30%, or $HK 20bn ($US 2.58bn), and the opening will be further delayed until the third quarter of 2018.

THE first TGV Duplex train for Morocco's inaugural high-speed line arrived in the country at the port of Tangiers on June 29.

JOURNEY times between the capitals of China's Anhui and Fujian provinces were cut in half on June 28 with the launch of commercial services on the 813km Hefei - Fuzhou high-speed line.