THE supervisory board of DB Schenker Rail, Europe's largest railfreight operator employing 31,000 people in 15 countries, has confirmed the appointment of Dr Jürgen Wilder from Siemens as its new CEO with effect from December 1.

FOLLOWING an international tender, Rhine-Main Transport Authority (RMV) announced on October 12 that it has selected Hessen State Railways (HLB) as preferred bidder for a contract to operate the Südhessen-Untermain regional network for 15 years from December 2018.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has recruited investment bank Lazard to explore options for its Arriva passenger rail and bus subsidiary, including a stock market listing, while it is also looking at the future structure of its DB Schenker railfreight division.

RHINE-Ruhr Transport (VRR) has published a tender in the Official Journal of the European Union for operation of eight regional lines with a total volume of 11.9 million train-km per year.

IRJ at Railway Interchange: Pintsch Tiefenbach, Germany, had a prototype SIL4 software-based axle counter on display in Minneapolis.

KEOLIS subsidiary Eurobahn is set to continue to operate Germany's Hellweg regional network beyond the expiry of its current contract in 2018 after winning a new 12-year contract.

BADEN-Württemberg ministry of transport and the state's transport authority NVBW have published a tender notice in the Official Journal of the European Union for a 15-year contract to operate the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn Network 6b service group.

HAMBURG senator for economics Mr Frank Horch announced on September 29 that the Department of Economics, Transport, and Innovation (BWVI) will launch an initial public consultation on plans for a significant expansion of the city's U-Bahn network, which is intended to meet growing demand for public transport and support the city's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Current prospects for the global rail track system market are mixed according to the latest study by German consultancy SCI Verkehr. CEO Maria Leenen and senior consultant Karl Strang profile the results.

HEILBRONN-based open-access passenger operator derschnellzug.de has announced plans to launch services on three long-distance routes from December and has begun recruiting onboard staff for the operation.