A ceremony was held at Moëllesulaz on the French-Swiss border on February 20 to officially launch construction of an extension of Geneva light rail line 12 to the French town of Annemasse, which will restore an international link severed in the 1950s.

FRENCH road and rail regulator Arafer announced on February 8 that it has rejected SNCF Network’s proposed tariff structure for track access charges from 2018, arguing the new arrangements fail to meet regulatory requirements and ignore commitments to pricing reform given by the infrastructure manager two years ago.

CAF announced on February 6 that it has been awarded a contract by Paris Transport Authority (RATP) for the design and manufacturing of dual-mode electric locomotives.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) began operating the first of 34 Alstom Coradia Liner V160 trains on February 6.

ALSTOM announced on February 3 that it will supply 10 additional Citadis trams to the Strasbourg Transport Company (CTS) for €28m as part of a framework agreement signed in November 2014.

THE Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high-speed line moved another step closer to the start of operations at the end of January, when TGVs reached the maximum testing speed of 352km/h.

THE mayor Nice Mr Christian Estrosi announced on January 30 that the French city will bring forward the start of construction on its third light rail line to this year with the aim of completing the project in 2020.

ALSTOM announced on January 31 that it has signed a €91m contract with Lyon Transport Authority, Sytral, for the automation of metro lines B and D of the Lyon metro.

THE French Senate adopted a bill on January 26 ratifying the agreement between the French and Italian governments to build the €26.1bn Lyon - Turin high-speed line.

A new fares concept offering 16-27-years olds almost unlimited travel on TGV and inter-city services was unveiled on January 25 by Mrs Rachel Picard, CEO of Voyages SNCF.