The world's longest high-speed rail line, which spans over half of China, began operating at the end of last year, further cementing the country's high-speed railway development ambitions. The 2,298-kilometer railway connects Beijing in the north to Guangzhou in the south, and it more than halves the travel time between the two cities. Trains running on the new high-speed line hit 300 kilometer per hour, cutting the total journey time by more than 12 hours. The major stops along the way between China's capital and Guangzhou in the south will include provincial capitals Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Changsha. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, citing the Ministry of Railways, more than 150 pairs of high-speed trains will run on the new line every day. China has massive resources and considerable prestige invested in its showcase high-speed railways program. But it has in recent months faced high-profile problems: part of a line collapsed in central China after heavy rains in March, while a bullet train crash in the summer of 2011 killed 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were detained in an unrelated corruption investigation months before the crash. With the opening of the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line, China now has more than 9.3 thousand kilometer of high-speed railway in operation. The new line is one of four north-south lines expected to serve as the country's high-speed railway backbone, which also features four east-west lines. According to the 12th five-year plan for railway development, by 2015, China will have around 120 thousand kilometer of railway in operation, including 18 thousand kilometer of high-speed railway and an express railway network of 40 thousand kilometer, which allows speeds of over 160 kilometer per hour. Preparations for a new high-speed line linking the central Chinese cities of Zhengzhou and Xuzhou are underway. The line will intersect the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed rail line and the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line, which started operations on June 30 last year.

On September 9 Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will launch the official operation of the Dubai Metro Green Line, which spans 23 kilometers and comprises 16 stations, reported Gulf News. The Red and Green lines of Dubai Metro will intersect twice; first time at the Union Station; which is the biggest underground metro station in the world spanning an area of 25 thousand square meters, and second time at Khalid bin Al Waleed Station; which is one of the most dazzling metro stations across the globe. Metro riders can transfer between the two lines through these two stations. According to the article, 14 trains will be operated during peak hours and 10 trains during off-peak hours with a service frequency (headway) ranging from 6 to 8 minutes. Accordingly, the number of trains operated on both the Red and Green lines will shoot to 50 trains during peak times and 28 trains during off-peak times. As reported by 2daydubai.com, work officially commenced on the construction on metro on March 21, 2006, groundwork's began in February, 2006. The first phase (US$ 4.2 billion) covers 35 kilometers of the proposed network, and the second phase (US$ 12 billion) includes extensions to the initial routes on both lines. The red line of Dubai metro opened to public on September 9, 2009.

The construction of the Akhalkalaki railway station will start in two weeks within the frameworks of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway construction, Georgian Minister for Regional Development and Infrastructure Ramaz Nikolaishvili said on August 11, apsny.ge reports. According to Nikolaishvili, the railroad has a strategic importance. A new road with the length of 29 km in the territory of Georgia and a new station will be constructed in Akhalkalaki, district of Georgia's Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Javakhketi province. The project is estimated at over US$ 600 million. For construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, at first Azerbaijan allocate US$ 200 million loan to Georgia, then US$ 575 million. It is planned, that railway will be put into operation at the end of the next year.

A $33 billion high-speed rail line connecting two of the world's largest cities made its debut on 30 June. The Beijing-to-Shanghai high-speed train has been operating on a trial basis since May, and is finally ready to open to the general public, reported constructiondigital.com. This line is expected to help improve China's overloaded transportation system. The country has been pursuing several large-scale infrastructure projects to help cut down on airport delays and cancellations. However, the entrance of the new high speed rail line has led some airlines to slash ticket prices by as much as 65 percent amidst concerns that the new rail line could cause a negative effect on the air travel industry. One-way tickets prices will range from US$ 63-270 compared to about US$ 200 for a flight on an airplane between Beijing and Shanghai. This new high-speed rail line is opening a full year ahead of schedule despite delays in construction as a result of safety concerns. Construction began in April 18, 2008. Once operational, the new Shanghai-to-Beijing line will cut the travel time between the two cities in half to under five hours. The rail line will be capable of carrying about 80 million passengers a year, twice the current capacity for the 1,318 kilometre route. The line carries 90 pairs of trains every day, including 63 pairs that run at 300 kilometers per hour, which can reach the terminal in 4 hours and 48 minutes, and 27 pairs that travel at 250 kilometers per hour, which can reach the terminal in 7 hours and 56 minutes.

According to site Constructiondigital, a 50-year, multibillion-euro concession contract between French railway infrastructure manager Reseau Ferre de France (RFF) and construction company Vinci set in motion the construction of one of the world's largest infrastructure projects launched in the past decade. This is France's biggest public-private partnership in the railway sector. The new South Europe Atlantic high-speed rail project is one of the largest the world has seen in a decade. The planned South Europe Atlantic high-speed rail (SEA HSR) will span about 188 miles and link the French cities of Tours and Bordeaux. Currently, travel between the cities takes about three hours and five minutes, but the new rail link will cut that time down to just over two hours. "Gaining an hour on the journey time will allow us to take a good slice of the current air travel market and carry four million extra passengers a year," said RFF Chief Executive Hubert du Mesnil. Construction on the SEA HSR will begin early next year and it is expected to take five years to complete production. It will include approximately 24 miles of connecting line to the conventional rail network. About 1,300 construction jobs and 150 permanent operation and maintenance jobs will be created for the project. Created in 1899 by French engineers Alexandre Giros and Louis Loucheur, Vinci has become the largest company in construction and related services worldwide. VINCI is the world leader in concessions and construction, employing close to 180,000 people in some 100 countries. Vinci and its predecessor companies has been involved in many major projects including the Gariep Dam completed in 1971, the Tour Montparnasse completed in 1972, the new visitor entrance to the Louvre completed in 1989, the Channel Tunnel completed in 1994, the Stade de France completed in 1998 and the Rio-Antirio bridge, completed in 2004.