THE chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mrs Carrie Lam, and MTR Corporation CEO, Mr Lincoln Leong, attended a ceremony at West Kowloon station on March 23 to mark the official completion of main works on the 28km Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (ERL).

FRANCE’s minister of economy and finance Mr Bruno Le Maire confirmed on March 22 that French National Railways (SNCF) will place an order for 100 next-generation TGVs with Alstom within the next three months.

THELLO, the French subsidiary of Trenitalia, has announced plans to launch high-speed services in France in direct competition with French National Railways (SNCF).

THE first 16-car CR400BF-A Fuxing high-speed train for China Railway Corporation (CRC) has been delivered to China Academy of Railway Sciences in Beijing for type testing.

Korea’s latest high-speed line, the Gyeonggang line, has not only dramatically improved transport links to the northeast of the country, including the Winter Olympic venues, but helped to drive Korean railway technology forward, as Andy Tebay and David Briginshaw reveal.

SPAIN’s minister of development, Mr Iñigo de la Serna, has announced an investment of €660.6m to increase the capacity of Madrid Puerta de Atocha station and alter the track layout at Charmatín station.

GREATER Manchester Combined Authority held a launch event in Manchester on March 16 for its HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) growth strategy, which sets forth the region's ambitions for high-speed rail and details how these two major rail projects can stimulate growth and opportunity both in Greater Manchester and across the north of England.

CALIFORNIA High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has published its draft 2018 business plan which acknowledges cost increases of 20-35% for each segment of the new railway and extensions to completion dates.

IRJ at Middle East Rail, Dubai: MOROCCAN National Railways (ONCF) says it is on course to open Africa’s first high-speed line in the third quarter of this year.

INFRASPEED, the PPP concessionaire responsible for maintaining HSL South, is seeking €10m in damages from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure amid claims that use of conventional locomotives and rolling stock instead of lightweight high-speed trains on domestic services is causing excessive wear-and-tear on the track.