THE government of the Dutch province of Limburg has decided that it will not launch a new tender for 15-year concession to operate train and bus services in the region and Arriva will take over the operation of the network as planned at the end of next year.

THE Dutch province of Overijssel is set to sign a contract with Keolis subsidiary Syntus for the operation of Zwolle - Enschede and Zwolle - Kampen regional services from December 2017 after Netherlands Railways (NS) withdrew its appeal against the award.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has reached an agreement with Strukton Rail to acquire its subsidiary NS Spooraansluitingen (NSS), which owns and operates lines between the Dutch national railway network and private sidings.

THE president of the board of commissioners of Netherlands Railways (NS), Mr Carel van der Driest, has resigned with immediate effect in the wake of the Limburg regional concessioning scandal.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has exercised an option with Bombardier for 18 additional class 186 Traxx multi-system locomotives, which will be used to operate 160km/h passenger services from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and The Hague via the HSL South high-speed line.

THE Dutch province of Limburg has awarded Arriva a 15-year concession to operate regional rail and bus services after the discovery of irregularities in the tendering process led to the disqualification of the preferred bidder, Netherlands Railways (NS) subsidiary Abellio.

MITSUBISHI Electric Corporation announced on May 27 that it has been awarded a contract by CAF, Spain to supply traction equipment for the fleet of 118 New Generation Sprinter (SNG) EMUs ordered by Netherlands Railways (NS) last December.

A cross-party Dutch parliamentary committee, set up in December 2013 to investigate the V250 Fyra high-speed train fiasco, will start public hearings on May 18 which will continue until June 12.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has intervened in the management of its subsidiaries Qbuzz and Abellio after uncovering what it describes as "serious irregularities" during an internal compliance investigation into tendering for a major regional rail and bus concession in the Dutch province of Limburg.