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GERMAN Rail (DB) has appointed four new members to its supervisory board as the railway seeks to recover from its employee spying scandal that forced the resignation of CEO Mr Hartmut Mehdorn on March 30.

THE Board of Russian Railways (RZD) has approved the creation of the so-called Second Freight Company, which will take over the bulk of RZD's remaining freight wagon fleet. "The RZD Board unanimously approved the establishment of a second freight company," says Mr Vladimir Yakunin, president of RZD. "We have a tight timetable: all the documents should be ready by the end of 2009 or early 2010 at the very latest." RZD wants the Second Freight Company to being trading in the first quarter of 2010.

CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock, China, has confirmed that it intends to bid for a contract to supply 40-120 emu vehicles for British operator London Midland. According to a notice issued in the Official Journal of the European Union last month, London Midland requires a fleet of 160km/h commuter emus formed into three or four-car trains, or a combination of both.

ITALY'S state-owned train operator Trenitalia is preparing to enter the French market on two fronts after declaring its intent to bid for Veolia Cargo and applying for paths to operate international passenger trains. Italian Railways (FS) CEO Mr Mauro Moretti says Trenitalia is looking to pursue a strong policy of internationalisation and is targeting Veolia Cargo in a bid to expand its presence outside Italy. "We are reasonably optimistic we will participate to win and not lose," he says. Veolia Environment is reportedly looking to sell assets worth around Euros 1 billion this year. Veolia Cargo operates in France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. Last year it generated revenues of Euros 188 million with volumes of 4.5 billion tonne-km.

BRITISH Prime Minister Mr Gordon Brown and London Mayor Mr Boris Johnson have laid a foundation stone at the site of Canary Wharf station in London's Docklands business district to formally mark the start of construction on the city's Crossrail project. Crossrail involves the construction of a central tunnel under London linking the Great Western Main Line at Paddington with the Great Eastern Main Line at Stratford, with an underground branch from Whitechapel running under the River Thames to Abbey Wood.

MONTPELLIER Area Council (TaM) has selected Alstom to supply a fleet of 42m-long Citadis LRVs for the city's third light rail line. The initial Euros 65 million contract covers the supply of 23 LRVs plus a full-size mock-up, although TaM has options for an additional 12 vehicles, and a 10-year maintenance contract which if exercised would take the total value of the deal up to Euros 117 million.