While Rail Baltica moves slowly towards its planned opening in 2030, the national railways in the three Baltic States are continuing to invest in modernising their broad gauge networks and integrating their domestic and international operations into the wider European network, as Vladimir Waldin explains.

FRANCE: The first of up to 410 next-generation trainsets worth €3bn has entered service on Paris metro Line 10. Jérémie Anne reports.

UK: Rolling stock engineering company DB ESG has opened a Rail Technology Hub close to its existing offices on the RTC Business Park in Derby.

SWITZERLAND: Federal transport office BAV has issued a further amendment to the safety rules governing wagons using the Swiss main line network. Rail freight associations are demanding the changes be dropped entirely to avert risk of what UIP terms a ‘supply chain crisis’.

This week’s news from the global railway supply chain.

UK: A Learning & Development Centre at Great Western Railway’s head office in Swindon has been officially opened by Secretary of State for Transport and local MP Heidi Alexander.

EUROPE: Gemini Trains still has ambitions to launch train services between the UK and continental Europe, despite the rejection of its application for depot access rights needed to enable it to launch services from London to Paris, Brussels and eventually Köln.

FRANCE: Former Prime Minister and RATP Chief Executive Jean Castex promised to ‘fix the foundations’ of SNCF as he was confirmed in the role of President of the national railway holding group.

EUROPE: Virgin Group has set out more details of its planned Channel Tunnel high speed train services and its funding partners, with founder Sir Richard Branson saying ’it’s time to end this 30-year monopoly and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route’.

UK: The rail regulator has approved Virgin Trains’ application for depot access which it needs under its plans to launch high speed passenger train services from London through the Channel Tunnel to Paris and Brussels from 2030.

ITALY: Regional operator Trenord and MerMec have introduced a health and diagnostic tool known as Trainscanner.

HUNGARY: The last train ran on the Debrecen – Nagykereki line on October 19, with expansion of a nearby battery plant set to incorporate part of the existing railway alignment.

TAIWAN: The Executive Yuan has approved the initial 8·4 km section of the Blue Line monorail to be built in Tainan, north of Kaohsiung.

USA: Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Silver Line has been launched with a series of celebratory events.

UK: The £175m Beaulieu Park station on the Great Eastern Main Line has opened to support the Chelmsford Garden Community development of more than 10 000 new homes.

INDONESIA: MRT Jakarta has awarded Sumitomo Corp and Nippon Sharyo a ¥17bn contract to supply eight six-car metro trainsets for Phase 2A of the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit North-South Line project.

UK: The Railway Industry Association and the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers have agreed to work together ‘as appropriate’ on rail policy matters, to provide mutual support on external affairs and to cross-promote their initiatives.

SOUTH KOREA: Revenue services have commenced on a new line linking Mokpo in the southwest of the country with Boseong.

This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.

UK: FirstGroup has made initial submissions of three separate applications to the Office of Rail & Road for new and extended open access passenger train services which would be operated under its Lumo brand.