GERMAN chancellor Mrs Angela Merkel and minister for transport and digital infrastructure Mr Alexander Dobrindt joined German Rail (DB) CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube Thuringia state minister-president Mr Bodo Ramelow and his Saxon counterpart Mr Stanislaw Tillich to inaugurate the 123km €2.74bn Erfurt - Leipzig/Halle high-speed line (VDE 8.2) on December 9.

BERLIN senator for urban development and the environment Mr Andreas Geisel confirmed on December 9 that the Senate has selected DB Regio subsidiary S-Bahn Berlin as preferred bidder for a contract to operate the Berlin S-Bahn Ring/South East group of lines for 15 years from 2021.

LEIPZIG tram operator LVB withdrew all services on the 4.5km line between Connewitz S-Bahn station and Markkleeberg West south of Leipzig city centre on November 27.

GERMAN Rail's (DB) next generation high-speed train was officially christened ICE 4 by DB CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube and German federal minister for transport and digital infrastructure Mr Alexander Dobrindt, in a ceremony at Berlin Südkreuz station on December 4.

THE continuing decline in coal transport, in part caused by cheaper supplies of oil and gas, plus the global slowdown in the steel industry continues to impact railfreight volumes in central Europe.

ALL three consortia building the six-line metro in the Saudi capital Riyadh have selected Pfaff-Silberblau, Germany, to supply train lifting equipment for installation in each of their new maintenance workshops.

THE German subsidiary of Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), United States, has received a small boost to its plans to launch a car carrying service linking the North German island of Sylt (which only has a rail connection to the rest of Germany) with the mainland.

FOLLOWING an open tender, the German state of Brandenburg and Oberlausitz- Niederschlesien Transport Authority (ZVON) have awarded East German Railway Company (ODEG) a contract to operate the Spree-Neisse regional network for 12 years from December 2018.

RHINE-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) signed a 12-year contract with Vias Rail in Mönchengladbach on November 16 for the operation of the Erft-Schwalm regional network from 2017.