A MAJOR step towards creating a standardised European system for rolling stock approvals was made on June 10, when the EU Transport Council adopted a 'general approach' on new rules which will introduce a single European authorisation for placing into service (APS) for railway vehicles.
BRITAIN's Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) published its 2013 Periodic Review of Network Rail (NR) on June 12, which sets out how the regulator expects how the infrastructure manager to reduce costs by £2bn during Control Period 5 (CP5), the 2014-19 funding period.
A team of Japanese consultants has completed a feasibility study for the proposed $US 1.7bn reconstruction of the 640km metre-gauge line between Myanmar's largest city Yangon and the northern city of Mandalay.
THE Peoples Committee of Ho Chi Minh City signed a contract with Hitachi on June 11 for Metro Line 1 Package 3, which covers electrical and mechanical works, trackwork, and rolling stock for the first phase of the city's metro network.
ABELLIO Rail NRW signed a contract with Stadler Pankow on June 12 for a fleet of 20 five-car Flirt emus, which will be used on the Dutch-German Lower Rhine Network from December 2016.
SPAIN's Ministry of Transport this week reported that ridership on Renfe AVE services has risen 14% year-on-year in the last four months to 4.7 million passengers, following an 11% cut in all tourist class tickets in early February.
HITACHI Rail Europe's "Verification-Train 3" has successfully completed a series of tests on a Network Rail class 97/3 locomotive equipped with ETCS Level 2 onboard equipment.
THE Xrail alliance of seven European wagonload railfreight operators has unveiled plans for the implementation of a "seamless" international capacity booking system for less-than-trainload consignments with the aim of improving the efficiency of cross-border wagonload operations.
THE High Commission for Riyadh Development (HCRD) says that "three major global consortia" have submitted technical and financial offers for the Riyadh Metro project, a six-line driverless network which will eventually encompass 177km and 96 stations in the Saudi capital.
ITALY's antitrust authority has announced it is launching an investigation into Italian State Railways (FS) and its subsidiaries following allegations by open-access high-speed operator NTV that the national railway has engaged in anticompetitive practices against the newcomer.