THE Dutch government announced on June 7 that it has decided to cancel its contract with AnsaldoBreda for 16 V250 high-speed trains, in accordance with the wishes of Netherlands Railways (NS).

THE Spanish government finally confirmed this week that Renfe will start commercial services on the 165km high-speed line from Albacete to Alicante on June 18.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) says it is considering abandoning its fleet of V250 trains as it is unconvinced that AnsaldoBreda will be able to correct the numerous faults on the trains within an acceptable period.

Ouigo, SNCF's new low-fare TGV service, has got off to a flying start since its launch at the beginning of April. As David Briginshaw reports from Paris, the service has already achieved a high satisfaction rating with passengers and attracted more people to rail than expected.

THE saga surrounding Fyra cross-border services between the Netherlands and Belgium took another twist on May 31, when Belgian National Railways (SNCB) announced it had cancelled its order for V250 high-speed trains with AnsaldoBreda.

TGV Lyria is forging ahead with new and improved services between France and Switzerland. Director general Alain Barbey spoke to Anitra Green about the company's progress.

IRJ at the 1520 Strategic Partnership: Mr Vladimir Yakunin, president of Russian Railways (RZD), has confirmed that the first high-speed line to be built in Russia will connect Moscow with Kazan.

TENDERS will be invited later this year by South Africa's Department of Transport to conduct a study into the likely cost and feasibility of building high-speed lines between the country's main cities.

EIFFAGE Rail Express, the PPP contractor responsible for designing, building and maintaining the 182km Bretagne – Pays de la Loire high-speed line between Le Mans and Rennes, has awarded Vossloh Cogifer a contract to supply more than 100 turnouts and crossings for the €3.3bn project.

A REPORT published today by Britain's National Audit Office (NAO) into the early stages of planning for High Speed 2 (HS2) suggests the Department for Transport (DfT) needs to strengthen the strategic business case for constructing the high-speed line from London to Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds.