THE chairman of Eurostar, Mr Richard Brown, published his recommendations for reform of Britain's passenger franchising system on January 10.

IN 1996 China's first rail outlet to the west opened - a single line from Urumqi through the Pass of Druzba to Aktogay in Kazakhstan. This line was quickly double-tracked and further capacity has just been created with the opening in December 2012 of the Zhetygen - Korgas - Jinghe line. Plans are now under development to add further routes through Kyrgyzstan (IRJ January p8) which would provide a line through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan into Iran via the existing gauge change point at Sarakks.

I have written to the European Commissioners urging them to stand firm on their policy of railway liberalisation, in spite of the massive lobbying by France and Germany against any change to their monopolistic rail sectors.

DECEMBER 24 marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of the first sections of the Delhi Metro, an important moment for urban rail in India and one which has set a precedent for the development of modern metro systems around the country.

THE railway industry has never been particularly good at fighting its own corner and championing the cause of rail transport.

PEERING from the window of a plane, Kazakhstan's vast western plains lie in stark contrast with the country's new capital city. Isolated but increasingly prominent, Astana appears as a welcome oasis of lights and flashy buildings in a white windswept wildnerness.

LAST Wednesday was a big day for the railway signalling community with the announcement that Invensys had agreed to sell its rail unit to Siemens for £1.7bn in cash. This might seem like an awful lot of money for a company that made a profit of £116m on revenues of £775m last year, but it is perhaps a fair reflection of both the capabilities of Invensys Rail and the breadth of its portfolio, which neatly complements Siemens own signalling business.

THE International Association of Public Transport (UITP) unveiled two initiatives on November 9 with the highly-laudable aims of boosting public transport ridership and providing innovative ideas for operators and cities to fund transit projects.

VENICE's car-less streets were an apt backdrop for the 12th UIC Conference on Sustainability held in the city last week.

THE current debate over the European Commission's (EC) planned Fourth Railway Package of reforms to the way Europe's railways are structured and regulated is stirring passions among some of the continent's leading railway managers who believe that attempts by the EC to force the remaining integrated railways (and some that would like to become so once again) to separate infrastructure from operations is a step too far.