The Bullet Train for Australia Party is urging people passionate about high-speed rail to stand as candidates in the electorates of Indi and Farrer in September's federal election. As part of its campaign to establish a high-speed rail link between Melbourne and Newcastle, it wants to field candidates in the electorates along the proposed railway route which crosses Victoria, the ACT and New South Wales. It is looking for everyday people from Shepparton and Albury-Wodonga to nominate. Party president Tim Bohm says it has received huge support from regional communities. "We've launched Facebook pages in all the regional cities along the route and we've had a huge take-up, even more support than the capital cities," he said. "So the Albury-Wodonga page has more than 1,000 people and it's only two weeks old." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-26/bullet-train-party-tracking-down-candidates/4780626

I try only to update the site with significant news around the world about high speed rail. This opinion article by Dave Cieslewicz, former mayor of Madison, about the ill fated decision to cancel higher speed rail contracts in Wisconsin USA is a good one. You can read the full story HERE .

Think Russia - Russian Railways announced plans recently to build more than 5 trillion rubles ($157 billion) worth of new high-speed rail links between Russia’s major cities, part of a larger push to make travel more convenient and comfortable in the country. As the world’s largest nation by land mass, and one that historically loves trains, Russia hopes rail development represents the perfect solution to help meet growing demand on the country’s travel infrastructure as it gears up to host international events like the Sochi Olympics and 2018 World Cup. Under the Strategy for Developing Rail Transport, signed by President Putin in June 2008, the amount of high-speed rail track in Russia will grow almost 17 times over, from the current 650km of track to 10,887km. The new high-speed routes will connect Moscow to St. Petersburg, Sochi and Kazan, with an extension to Yekaterinburg. Russian Railways says the new trains will significantly reduce passenger journey times, improve jou...

THE Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) has voted unanimously in favour of implementing new crashworthiness standards for high-speed trains that will operate in the United States. The standards, which the FRA expects to publish later this year, will provide baseline safety requirements for high-speed trains operating at up to 350km/h on dedicated lines, and up to 200km/h on conventional infrastructure. Once finalised, the new standards will be applied on the Washington DC – New York – Boston Northeast Corridor and in California. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/us-approves-new-crashworthiness-standards-for-hs-trains.html?channel=535

Spanish train operator Renfe has seen passenger numbers increase by 14 per cent after introducing new discounted services. Between February 8 and June 2, Renfe cut the price of AVE trains by 11 per cent in an attempt to reverse a decline in sales for high-speed services. Since the introduction of the new pricing structure, sales have increased by 18 per cent on last year. Train occupancy has also risen from 2012 levels to an average of 75 per cent.

BANGKOK, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Thailand will be connected with China via a high-speed railway running through northern Laos within the next seven years, assured Thai Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt. Delivering a key-note speech on Thursday at a seminar and exhibition entitled "Thailand 2020" in the Thai northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima, the transport minister said the government has planned to build a 625 km rail system to link Bangkok with the northeastern border province of Nong Khai, across Mekong River from the Lao capital of Vientiane while Chinese high- speed trains will arrive from southern China. During the initial stage of a 730-billion-U.S.-dollar rail and logistical program, designed for reconstruction of major rail routes in all regions of Thailand, a 250 km Bangkok-Nakorn Ratchasima route will be built first. Then, the next phase will see a 375 km Nakorn Ratchasima-Nong Khai route built up for the Thai high-speed train to shuttle passengers and c...

Article on NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair call for high speed trains in Canada Mind the transportation plan gap

The first successful tests have been carried out for Japan's new generation of L0 trains, maglev bullet trains designed to travel at speeds of 500km/h. The trains are currently on schedule to be deployed on the Tokyo-Nagoya line in 2027, with the first five cars (including the aerodynamic long 'nose' on the front carriage) displayed on a test track in Yamanashi Prefecture. The new trains use magnetic levitation (maglev) technology in place of wheels, allowing for much smoother moment than traditional wheeled systems. The lack of friction means acceleration and deceleration are faster and they are unaffected by weather conditions. The first commercial maglev service was opened by China in 2004. The Shanghai maglev can travel at speeds up to 425km/h through the average is closer to 241km/h. In the UK the average train speed is closer to 200km/h. The new train has been designed by the Central Japan Railway Co (JR Tokai) and will consist of 16 carriages, carrying up to...

OAO Russian Railways is planning more than 5 trillion rubles ($157 billion) of high-speed rail links as the world’s largest country by land mass plans to host the 2018 soccer World Cup. “Building high-speed rail links is a brand new trend for the development of our economy,” Russian Railways Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Yakunin said in Sochi, the Black Sea city that will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia’s ambitions to hold world sporting events is forcing the government to expand the national transportation system. The country doesn’t have a single high-speed rail line, while Japan introduced the world’s first service in the 1960s, according to data from OAO High-Speed Rail Lines, a unit of RZD as the Russian rail monopoly is known. State-owned Russian Railways plans the routes from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Sochi and Kazan, with an extension to Yekaterinburg near the border of Europe and Asia. The company is trying to start the pilot link to Kazan in time to race soccer fa...