GERMAN Rail (DB) has admitted its plans to launch ICE high-speed services from London to Cologne and Frankfurt are now seriously delayed, and the service is unlikely to be launched before the end of the decade.

FIRST Capital Connect has been awarded a six-month extension to its Thameslink franchise while Britain's Department for Transport (DfT) assesses the bids from five companies for a new larger franchise which is due to start in September.

SIEMENS presented the first set of Railjet long-distance coaches for Czech Railways (CD) to the press at its Simmering facility in Vienna on February 12.

AMTRAK staged a ceremony at Philadelphia's 30th Street station on February 6 in the presence of US vice-president Mr Joe Biden and US transportation secretary Mr Anthony Foxx to mark the entry into service of the first of 70 locomotives being supplied by Siemens.

SIEMENS, together with Britain's Department for Transport (DfT), rolling stock leasing company Cross London Trains (CLT), and current Thameslink franchisee First Capital Connect (FCC), presented the full-scale mock-up of the new Desiro City emu for Thameslink services at London's ExCeL exhibition centre on January 28.

HUNGARY's Györ-Sopron-Ebenfurth Railway (GySEV) has awarded Siemens a €30.7m contract to supply five Desiro ML emus for regional services between Hungary and Austria.

GERMANY'S Federal Railway Authority (EBA) has finally approved the fleet of Siemens Velaro-D (class 407) ICEs ordered by German Rail (DB) for use on the German network, two years after they were originally due to enter service.

FINLAND's VR Group has selected Siemens as preferred bidder for a €300m contract to supply 80 1524mm-gauge electric locomotives for passenger and freight services.

ILLINOIS Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced on December 19 that it has issued a notice of intent to award Siemens a contract to supply a total of 35 200km/h diesel passenger locomotives for five US states.

SIEMENS Rail Automation has completed a three-month project to equip the fleet of 135 trains used on the Copenhagen S-Train network with GSM-R cab radio equipment.