France to run driverless mainline trains within five years

French railway operator SNCF said Wednesday it was planning to introduce prototypes of driverless mainline trains for passengers and freight by 2023, and include them in scheduled services in subsequent years.

Italy launches private high-speed train

Italy launched Europe's first private high-speed train service this week, as the country looks towards the more liberal economy that Prime Minister Mario Monti wants to put on the rails.

France's SNCF hopes to run high speed rail in US

The United States is ready for a truly high-speed rail system and France's national railway SNCF would be "very interested" in operating a network, a senior executive said Thursday.