TURKISH State Railways (TCDD) has awarded Alstom an e89m contract to supply its Atlas ETCS system on the 328km Eskisehir - Kutahya - Balikesir line.

A CEREMONY was held on October 21 to mark the welding of the final section of rail on the Vienna - Tullnerfeld - St Pölten high-speed line, which will divert passenger trains away from the existing main line through Rekawinkel and provide additional capacity for freight.

COMMERCIAL operation of JR East's Advanced Train Administration and Communications System (Atacs), started on the Senseki Line commuter route in Sendai on October 10.

Despite the high reliability of ERTMS, the rapid roll-out of GSM-R, and the increasing number of ETCS projects – particularly outside Europe – there is still a lack of confidence in ERTMS in Europe, as David Briginshaw discovered at the UIC’s ERTMS conference in Malaga, Spain, last month.