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THE Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has reappointed Mr Mauro Moretti, CEO of FS Group, as its chairman for the next two years following a unanimous vote by 73 CER delegates during a meeting held today in Brussels.

PAKISTAN Railways (PR) has awarded a Bombardier and China Railway Signal and Communication Corp (CRCS) consortium a Euros 41 million contract to supply Bombardier's Interflo 200 mainline signalling system on the 328km Bin Qasim to Mipur Mathelo double-track section of the Karachi - Lahore line.

KASSEL Transport Authority (KVG) has ordered 18-low floor Flexity Classic LRVs from a Bombardier-Vossloh Kiepe consortium for Euros 45 million. The contract, which includes an option for six additional vehicles, is worth approximately Euros 30 million to Bombardier.

THE Independent Rail Operators Federation (IROF), which acts on behalf of six private Polish freight operators, has filed a complaint to the European Commission against Polish authorities after the Polish government allegedly granted public aid to PKP Cargo, a freight subsidiary of Polish State Railways (PKP).

ANSALDO STS has won a Euros 180 million five-year contract from Metroselskabet to maintain and operate Copenhagen's driverless metro system. The latest contract, which includes an option for an additional three years, continues Ansaldo's 14-year partnership with Metroselskabet which began in 1996 when the company won a tender to provide engineering, systems integration, rail electrification equipment and vehicles for the metro, and continued when Ansaldo was selected to manage the network when it opened in October 2002.

MOROCCO's new 18km light rail line between the cities of Rabat and Sale will adopt Telvent's Smartmobility light rail signalling system when it opens in 2011 after a Euros 2.3 million contract was signed with the American IT company.

STUTTGART Tramways has ordered 20 Tango high-floor LRVs from Stadler Pankow in a deal worth Euros 77 million. The 38.6m-long two-section vehicles have a maximum speed of 80km/h and a capacity for 252 passengers. The new vehicles will complement Stuttgart's existing fleet of 164 LRVs which operate on 192km of lines serving both the city centre and suburban communities.

AS the world’s leading economies stagger out of recession and record their first periods of meagre growth, the rail sector looks set to achieve much stronger growth than the overall economic performance of most countries, as investment in rail surges ahead.

The need to restore battered economies and substantially reduce carbon emissions will provide all countries with immense challenges in the decade ahead. International Association of Public Transport secretary general Hans Rat (pictured) explains to Keith Barrow why public transport offers hope on both fronts.

With the inquest into what caused five trains to fail in the Channel Tunnel on December 18, and the subsequent response of Eurostar and Eurotunnel continuing, Kevin Smith reports on the incident and its aftermath.