Air France KLM, one of the world's biggest airlines and French transport, waste and water firm Veolia have embarked on plans to move into high-speed passenger rail transport.
The venture is set to capitalise on European rail passenger traffic, which is set to be liberalised on 1 January 2010.
The deal has been in the making since July when Air France-KLM first began discussions with Veolia about a partnership to create a new high-speed rail player in Europe.
High-speed rail travel is currently mainly in the hands of state-owned rail companies such as SNCF or Deutsche Bahn or joint ventures between these operators such as Eurostar and Thalys.
By Daniel Garrun
