A CEREMONY was held at Toyama station on May 24 to mark the completion of tracklaying on the 228km Nagano – Kanazawa section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, with around 60 dignitaries tightening bolts on the final section of rail.

THE massive electoral win of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in India's recent general election has accelerated plans to build the country's first high-speed line.

SPANISH infrastructure manager Adif this week confirmed that high-speed trains have finally been authorised to use ERTMS in commercial operation on the 165km Albacete – Alicante high-speed line, which was opened in June 2013.

BELGIAN National Railways (SNCB) has agreed a €2.5m settlement with AnsaldoBreda over its cancelled contract for three V250 high-speed trains, ending legal proceedings against the Italian manufacturer over the much-maligned rolling stock for the now abandoned Fyra service.

ONTARIO's minister for transport and infrastructure Mr Glen Murray says the provincial government plans to develop a 185km high-speed service between Toronto, Waterloo, Kitchener and London, with a four-year environmental impact assessment and design studies for the project expected to begin this autumn.

SIEMENS has entered the race to acquire Alstom by issuing an offer to rival the $US 13bn bid made by General Electric (GE) for the French company's power turbines and grid equipment last week.

THE board of Adif, Spain's infrastructure manager, has placed a €54m contract with Siemens Rail Automation and Thales to equip the Pajares bypass with Spain's Asfa ATP system, ERTMS and associated signalling and telecommunications equipment.

SPAIN's infrastructure manager Adif has awarded a €410m contract to Alstom to install ERTMS Level 2 signalling on 310km of high-speed line in northern Spain and to maintain the equipment for 20 years.

THE number of passengers travelling by Eurostar high-speed services between London, Paris and Brussels increased by 3% to 2.3 million, while revenue grew by 7% to £227m during the first quarter of 2014.

NATIONAL Express subsidiary Alsa last week announced it has been granted a license by the Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport to operate passenger trains on the Spanish main line network.