DUTCH secretary of state for infrastructure Mrs Wilma Mansveld has announced that the government will grant €200m to South Holland to extend the R-Net network of high-quality public transport services around the Randstad conurbation.

BRU, the regional public transport authority in the Dutch city of Utrecht has selected preferred bidders for infrastructure and rolling stock contracts for the Uithof Line, an 8km light rail line linking Utrecht Central station with the university campuses at De Uithof in the east of the city.

THALYS, which operates high-speed services between Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne and Essen, will become an independent company on March 31 2015 for the first time since it was set up as a purely commercial entity in 1996.

WESTPHALIA-Lippe Local Transport (NWL) has selected Keolis for a contract to operate the Teutoburger Wald regional network in northwest Germany from December 2017, which will become effective from December 2017.

THE Dutch province of Overijssel and the Twente region have published a tender notice in the Official Journal of the European Union for a contract to operate Zwolle – Kampen and Zwolle – Enschede regional services for 15 years from December 2017.

TRIAL operation began on the new underground rail link beneath the Dutch city of Delft on November 1, when a Netherlands Railways (NS) VIRM EMU carried a group of journalists through the 2.3km tunnel.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has announced that CAF, Spain, is its preferred bidder for a contract to supply a fleet of 120 EMUs worth around €510m for its Sprinter New Generation project.

VEOLIA Transport Netherlands has taken the government of Limburg to court in a row over terms and conditions for new regional rail and bus contracts in the Dutch province.

PRORAIL has announced it will take over operation of the Betuweroute dedicated freight line from January 1, when the line's current operator Keyrail and all 60 of its employees will be absorbed by the Dutch national infrastructure manager.