About the author

Keith Barrow

Keith Barrow joined IRJ as News Editor in 2006 and was promoted to Associate Editor in 2008. He was previously editor of employee publications for the Welsh Assembly Government, G4S, and Thomsonfly, and has written for a range of other publications including the Derby Telegraph. He graduated from Lincoln University in 2002 with a degree in journalism.

February 25, 2015 | Freight

Genesee & Wyoming to acquire Freightliner

GENESEE & Wyoming (G&W) announced on February 24 that it has agreed to acquire a 95% stake in Britain's Freightliner Group from Arcapita and other shareholders for $US 755m in cash.

February 24, 2015 | Light Rail

Izmit launches light rail tender

IZMIT, a city of more than 300,000 inhabitants in northwest Turkey, has issued a tender notice for a contract to build the city's first light rail line.

February 24, 2015 | Commuter Rail

Helsinki City Rail Loop cancelled

FINLAND's finance minister Mr Antti Rinne announced on February 24 that plans for the Helsinki City Rail Loop have been shelved after the government failed to reach an agreement on funding for the €900m project in a meeting of the Council of State.

February 24, 2015 | Financial

Hitachi wins race for Finmeccanica rail assets

HITACHI announced on February 24 that it has reached a binding agreement with the board of Finmeccanica to acquire all of the shares in AnsaldoBreda and the Italian conglomerate's 40% stake in Ansaldo STS.

February 23, 2015 | Light Rail

Supercapacitor Tramino LRV on test in Krakow

KRAKOW Transport Authority (MPK) began three months of trial operation with a Solaris Tramino low-floor LRV on February 23 to evaluate the performance of a vehicle equipped with a supercapacitor energy storage system on the city's standard-gauge tram network.

February 23, 2015 | Africa

Morocco plans $US 780m rail investment in 2015

THE board of Moroccan National Railways (ONCF) approved a capital budget of Dirhams 7.5bn ($US 780m) for this year at a meeting in Rabat on February 19, which was chaired by minister for infrastructure, transport and logistics Mr Aziz Rabbah.

February 23, 2015 | Middle East

British consortium to support Saudi N-S Railway

SAUDI Railway Company (SAR) has awarded a £120m five-year contract to provide operational management and technical support services on the North-South Railway to a British consortium of Serco Group, Network Rail Consulting, and railfreight operator Freightliner.

February 20, 2015 | Locomotives

German multi-engined locos handed over

BOMBARDIER has handed over the first of 15 Traxx DE ME multi-engine diesel locomotives ordered last year by Germany-based financial joint venture Paribus-DIF Netz West Lokomotiven for use on regional passenger services in northern Germany.

February 20, 2015 | Middle East

Consortium chosen for Doha metro systems contract

QATAR Railways sent a conditional letter of acceptance on February 20 to its preferred bidder for a turnkey contract to supply electrical and mechanical systems including rolling stock for the first phase of the Doha metro network.

February 18, 2015 | High-speed

Hokuriku Shinkansen ready for launch

Next month sees the launch of the latest addition to Japan's high-speed network with the start of commercial services on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Keith Barrow reports from Japan on the new line from Nagano to Kanazawa and plans for further extensions.