PKP Intercity's new fleet of ED160 Flirt 3 EMUs entered commercial service on the morning of December 13, when one of the eight-car trains formed the 05.07 from Gdynia to Katowice via Warsaw.

SERVICES have commenced on the Legnica - Wegliniec - Bielawa Dolna section of Poland's E30 line using a mixture of ERTMS Level 2 and conventional signalling.

POLAND's largest railfreight operator PKP Cargo is set for further expansion after reaching an agreement to acquire the rail assets of oil company PKN Orlen and securing Zlotys 1.1bn ($US 270m) in loans to finance the implementation of its Cargo '20 programme.

THE Polish region of Opole has awarded Newag, Poland, a contract to supply five Impuls regional EMUs with an option for two additional trains.

POLISH open-access operator Lotos Kolej extended its business into Europe's largest railfreight market on November 3 when it operated its first revenue-earning freight train in Germany.

THE mayor of Lodz Mrs Hanna Zdanowska officially reopened the city's modernised and extended tram Line 10 in at ceremony at Piotrkowska Centrum public transport interchange on October 31.

THE management board of Warsaw metro has selected preferred bidders for contracts to construct the two second phase extensions of metro Line M2, which have a combined length of 6.5km.

CZECH Railways (CD) has signed an agreement with Silesian Railways (KS) to co-operate on measures to improve cross-border regional rail links between eastern Czech Republic and southern Poland.

TEST running is underway with three 200km/h tilting sets which Talgo is supplying to Russian Railways (RZD) with a view to placing them in service on the Berlin – Moscow route next year.

THE completion of the first phase of Rail Baltica was celebrated in Kaunas, Lithuania, on October 16, when EU transport commissioner Mrs Violeta Bulc joined Lithuanian prime minister Mr Algirdas Butkevičius to inaugurate the standard-gauge link from the Polish border.