RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) has begun testing the first of 38 Siemens Desiro Rus emus ordered by Russian Railways for expanded rail services in the Sochi region during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games in 2014.

PLANS for the construction of a new railway between Heerenveen and Groningen in the north of the Netherlands have been abandoned after mounting costs prompted the provinces of Friesland and Groningen to reject the project. Originally budgeted at around Euros 600m, costs have risen to around Euros 700m, while the initial calculations also failed to budget for maintenance and infrastructure management at Euro 6m per year.

THE Georgian government announced yesterday it is to postpone the listing of Georgian Railway (GR) shares on the London Stock Exchange due to market volatility.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) logistics subsidiary SNCF Geodis is planning a new piggyback service for semi-trailers between Germany and Switzerland.

HAMBURGER Hochbahn (HHA) has selected Funkwerk to supply an electronic interlocking system based on the Alister platform at its Saarlandstrasse metro train depot.

THE first Stadler Flirt emu for Czech open-access long-distance operator Leo Express has arrived at the Velim test circuit near Prague for trials.

The train will undergo brake checks as well as vibro-acoustic and electromagnetic compatibility testing over the next few weeks. Following the completion of these tests, trial running will switch to the mainline network.

THE Rhine-Main Transport Association (RMV), which is responsible for public transport in the Frankfurt area, has sold more than 1 million mobile phone tickets using a smartphone app and mobile ticketing system supplied by Cubic.

A TWO-STAGE 18-month trial has been completed on Manchester Metrolink aimed at reducing LRV wheel flange and track wear, as well as the associated noise, using an Intelligent Wheel Flange Lubrication (iWFL) system developed by Rowe Hankins, Britain.

THE first commercial ETCS Level 3 system is now in operation on the Västerdal freight line in central Sweden, declared Mr Paul Frøsig of the International Union of Railways (UIC) at the UIC ERTMS World Conference in Stockholm last month.

DRIVER familiarisation has begun on the extension of Warsaw's SKM suburban rail network to Frédéric Chopin Airport.