A 23 year-old Icelandic man died when he fell in front of a speeding train in Norway in the early hours of Saturday morning. The accident took place at the Brakeroya railway station in Drammen. It appears the man simply fell off the station platform. Read the full story

A serious accident has taken place in Oslo, the capital of Norway, when a freight train rolled out of control and derailed. Read the full story

A branch of Holiday Inn was the unintended termination point for four runaway train carriages Monday morning, as they careered through the buffer stop at Helsinki’s Central railway station before slamming into the hotel. Read the full story

For the first time in years, Copenhagen’s public transport network has experienced an increase in passengers. This is a sharp turnaround from the previous six years in which passenger numbers steadily dropped. But the Copenhagen Post reports that in 2008 there were an impressive 6.2 million more passengers using the capital’s public transport than in 2007. Read the full story

Finnish Railways (VR) announced last week that it will be upgrading its existing rail link between the capital Helsinki and Russia’s St Petersburg. The new high-speed service, which is named Allegro, will begin operations in 2010. Read the full story

Sweden’s state-owned railway recently put in a USD 348 million order for high speed trains with the world’s largest train maker, Bombardier Inc.

The contract for the delivery of 20 four-carriage Regina high speed trains also includes an option for Sweden to purchase an additional 20 trains. According to a Marketwire press statement released by the Montreal-based train manufacturer, delivery will begin in April 2010 and be complete by August of the same year.

Bombardier Transportation currently employs 1,600 staff members in Sweden and has a headquarters in Berlin. A representative from the company said that 70 Regina trains are already operating in Scandinavia or on order, making it a very popular model.

The vehicles will be assembled in Germany, at Bombardier’s Henningsdorf factory. From there, the trains will go to Vasteras, Sweden where the power system will be added. In addition, most of the project management and lead engineering for the trains will occur in Vasteras.

Bombardier is a Canadian conglomerate which has diversified over the years and now manufactures a variety of aircrafts including regional and business jets. In addition to providing other forms of mass transportation, Bombardier is also provides financial services and manufactures playground equipment.