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Last Saturday, the East European high-speed line opened for business.

Operating between eastern France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxemburg, the system is expected to attract 11.5 million passengers annually on trains reaching speeds up to 198 mph. The 19 international trains that will run on the line are the first cross-border trains to be equipped with the European Rail Traffic Management System Level 2, an interoperable train-control and radio communications system.

Several other European high-speed lines are on track to open in the coming months. In November, the second portion of the United Kingdom’s first dedicated high-speed line is scheduled to launch, and Eurostar service will begin running from London’s new St. Pancras Station. In December, Spain’s Madrid-to-Barcelona and Cordoba-to-Malaga high-speed lines will begin operating. And in early 2008, a new high-speed line is scheduled to open in the Netherlands, connecting Amsterdam with Brussels and Paris.