CHINA's National Development and Reform Commission has approved plans for the 78.2km Beijing - Bazhou high-speed line, which will serve the city's new international airport at Daxing, 46km south of the capital.

CHINA's top economic planning authority the National Development and Reform Commission approved a construction plan on December 31 for the Yuan 65.4bn ($US 9.9bn) second phase of the metro network in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, a day after testing began on the first section of Line 1.

CHINA's top economic planning body the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) confirmed on January 8 that it has given the go-ahead for the Yuan 13.2bn ($US 2bn) second phase of the metro network in Shijiazhuang, the largest city in Hebei province.

MIDAS Holdings, Singapore, announced on January 4 that its Chinese joint venture Nanjing Puzhen SR Rail Transport (NPRT) has secured a Yuan 1.28bn ($US 200m) contract to supply rolling stock for the first phase of the metro network in Guiyang, the capital of China's southwestern Guizhou province.

CHINA's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) confirmed on January 6 that it has approved the construction of two new high-speed lines which will branch off the existing Beijing - Shenyang high-speed line in Liaoning province to serve cities in Inner Mongolia.

COMMERCIAL services began on the 157.9km Tianjin - Baoding high-speed line on December 28, closing an important gap in the high-speed network south of Beijing.

THE Chinese city of Nanchang opened its first metro line on December 26 with the start of passenger operations on the initial phase Line 1.

THE Punjab provincial government's economics affairs secretary Mr Tariq Bajwa and Mr Sun Ping, vice president of Exim Bank of China, signed a Rs 162bn ($US 1.55bn) soft loan agreement to fund the entire Lahore Orange Line metro project during a ceremony held on December 21.

SHANGHAI launched commercial services on three metro extensions on December 19, taking the total length of the network to 617km with 366 stations.

CHINA Railways Corporation (CRC) has awarded Bombardier Sifang Transportation (BST), a joint venture of Bombardier and CRRC's CSR Sifang Rolling Stock, a Yuan 1.1bn ($US 169.8m) contract to supply five 16-car CRH1E-250 high-speed sleeper trains.