KOREA's national rail operator, Korail, has issued a call for tender for 15 10-car high-speed trains for operation on the new Wongang line which opens in 2017 and will link Wonju, southeast of Seoul, with the east coast city of Gangneung.

SPAIN's Ministry of Public Works (Fomento) has approved €280m of funding to equip the under-construction Grenada – Antequera high-speed line, enabling infrastructure manager Adif to invite tenders.

A 228km section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen is scheduled to open in March 2015, which is one of three extensions to the Japanese high-speed network currently under construction, as Yoshihiko Sato and David Briginshaw explain.

Following a peak in construction of high-speed lines during the last few years, the global market for high-speed trains is expected to settle at a lower but stable level by 2017.

SPANISH infrastructure manager Adif has awarded a consortium of Alstom and Isolux Corsán a €28m contract to design, construct and maintain a traction substation and catenary system for the 44.3km link under-construction between La Robla in León and Pola de Tena, Asturias, which will eventually form part of the León to Gijon high-speed line.

A DIRECT rail link between Avignon TGV station and the city centre was established on January 27 with the official opening of the €37.5m chord between the high-speed station and the Avignon – Arles – Miramas line.

THE procurement of a new generation of high-speed trains for the United States was launched on January 24, when Amtrak and California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) issued a joint request for proposals (RFP) for a contract to supply trains for the Northeast Corridor and the first section of the California high-speed network.

SPAIN is planning to install only single track on most new sections of high-speed line in a bid to reconcile ambitious plans to extend the reach of the standard-gauge network with the budgetary restraints imposed by the economic crisis.

THE BOARD of Moroccan National Railways (ONCF) has approved a draft investment budget of Dirhams 8bn ( $US 970m) for this year, which will fund construction of the 183km Tangiers – Kénitra high-speed line, enhancements on conventional lines, and the modernisation of the train fleet.

GROWTH in cross-channel freight, high-speed and shuttle traffic helped Eurotunnel to record-breaking financial results in 2013, with consolidated revenues climbing 12% year-on-year to reach €1.09bn.