AN investigation is underway after an Amtrak Acela Express train en route from Washington DC to New York split in two while running at a reported 200km/h as it travelled along the Northeast Corridor in Maryland at about 06.30 on February 6.

NEW York-based investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners III (GIP) has launched a bid to acquire Italian open-access high-speed operator Italo-NTV, just weeks before its planned initial public offering (IPO) on the Milan stock exchange.

SPAIN’s minister of public works Mr Iñigo de la Serna announced in Barcelona on February 6 that Renfe is planning to launch a new low-fares high-speed service between Barcelona and Madrid next year.

SPAIN’s national operator Renfe has awarded a €107m contract to Talgo to convert 13 series 7 overnight trains into 330km/h day trains.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) says it is in talks with Eurostar regarding the introduction of a third London - Amsterdam service in 2019, potentially offering a significant improvement in journey times for London-bound passengers.

SPAIN’s infrastructure manager Adif is working on a project to complete the track doubling of the entire 165km Valladolid - Palencia - León high-speed line and install ERTMS Level 2 to enable the maximum speed to be increased from 200km/h to 300km/h.

UKRAINE’s transport minister Mr Volodymyr Omelyan and Mr Ricardo Maria Monti, president of Italian State Railways (FS) engineering subsidiary Italferr met in Kiev on January 30 to discuss the preparation of technical and economic studies for high-speed rail on the Odessa - Kiev - Lviv corridor.

RAIL Baltica invited bids on January 26 for a tender for detailed technical design of the first sections of the standard-gauge new railway in Latvia. Closing date for bids is February 28.

TEXAS Central, which is planning to build a privately-funded 386km 320km/h railway linking Dallas with Houston, has selected the site for its station in Dallas and says it has reached an agreement with developer Jack Matthews, which owns the site.

ACCORDING to Spanish press reports, Spain’s Ministry of Development and national train operator Renfe are finalising plans for a €2bn rolling stock investment plan covering the period 2017-2028. The total investment could be much higher if Renfe includes maintenance in the contracts it awards.