CHINA's premier Mr Li Keqiang and Russian prime minister Mr Dimitry Medvedev have overseen the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries for Russia's proposed Moscow - Kazan high-speed project, which could see Chinese companies invest up to $US 10bn in the $US 25bn undertaking.

China has built the world's largest high-speed rail network in less than a decade and construction costs for high-speed lines are now as much as a third lower than in other countries. Gerald Ollivier, Jitendra Sondhri and Nanyan Zhou from the World Bank's Beijing office explain how China continues to develop a world-class system with world-beating unit costs.

CHINA Railway Investment Corporation (CRIC), on behalf of China Railways (CRC), has published the winners of tenders for 175 high-speed trains with a maximum speed of 350km/h, and 57 trains with a maximum speed of 250km/h, with subsidiaries of CSR and CNR securing all of the contracts.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on September 18 by the chairman Indian Railways (IR) Mr Arunendra Kumar and the head of China Railway Corporation (CRC) Mr Lu Dongfu for a joint pre-feasibility study into constructing a high-speed line.

CHINA opened another high-speed line on September 16 with the launch of commercial services on the 342km line from Nanchang to Changsha.

CONSTRUCTION is set to begin by the end of the year on the fifth metro line in the Chinese city of Hangzhou following the approval of the project by the Zhejiang provincial government.

THE first two out of a fleet of 15 catenary-free LRVs being supplied by CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock and Bombardier have started limited operation on a new line in the Chinese city of Nanjing.

THE WORLD's largest rolling stock manufacturers CNR and CSR have suspended trading of their shares following reports in the Chinese media that the Chinese government is looking to merge the two companies.

DB SCHENKER and Zhengzhou International Land Port Development and Construction Company launched a new direct Germany – China freight service on September 1, when the first train was flagged off from the Billwerder terminal in Hamburg by Dr Karl-Friedrich Rausch, DB management board officer for logistics and the governor of Hunan province Mr Xie Fuzhan.

TIANJIN Binhai International Airport joined the Tianjin metro network on August 28 with the start of commercial services on the 4km eastern extension of Line 2 from Konggangjingjiqu to the airport's newly-completed Terminal 2.