Dan Templeton

ONTARIO’s premier Kathleen Wynne unveiled the first of 16 refurbished Polar Bear Express passenger coaches in North Bay on August 12.

NETWORK Rail announced on August 11 that it has awarded a contract to Siemens Rail Automation for the design, construction, testing and commissioning of the Port Talbot West Phase 1 resignalling project on the Cardiff – Swansea section of the South Wales Main Line.

CHICAGO commuter rail operator Metra announced on August 9 that due to changes in the availability of capital required to fund its $US 2.4bn modernisation plan, the agency has temporarily suspended its search for a vendor to supply 367 double-deck coaches.

TRIAL runs began on August 10 on the 5.2km ITO – Kashmere Gate section of the Delhi Metro’s Violet Line.

LISBON commuter rail operator Fertagus has awarded a contract to Emef, Portugal, for part of the heavy maintenance of its fleet of 18 UQE3500-series trains starting at the Entroncamento workshop from September.

TRELLEBORG, Sweden, announced the acquisition of Schwab Vibration Control, a manufacturer of vibration control components and system solutions, on August 10.

GOLDSCHMIDT Thermit Group announced on August 9 that it has acquired Swedish road-rail vehicle company SRS Sjölanders for an undisclosed sum.

CHINA Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has signed a Taka 276.5bn ($US 3.5bn) contract on August 8 with the Bangladeshi government to build a new east-west railway via the 6.2km road-rail Padma Bridge.

ST Petersburg Metro has launched a tender for a contract to supply 27 six-car metro trains for a maximum price of Roubles 13.6bn ($US 208m), with an August 25 deadline for bids.

BOMBARDIER and Ericsson have completed trials with LTE on networks with trains operating at speeds of up to 200km/h.