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.

January 10, 2014 | Metros

Trial operation starts on Delhi metro Phase 3

DELHI Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) launched trial operation on the first completed section of the third phase of the city's metro network on December 30, when secretary of the Indian Ministry of Urban Development Dr Sudhir Krishna and Mr Mangu Singh, chairman of DMRC flagged off the first test train on the 3km Central Seretariat – Mandi House stretch of Line 6.

January 9, 2014 | Financial

Alpha Trains acquires rolling stock from RBS

LEASING company Alpha trains has acquired 202 rolling stock assets from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) through its Alpha Trains Luxembourg No 2 subsidiary in a mixed asset and shares transaction, which was concluded last month.

January 9, 2014 | Europe

UIC report shows decline in European rail fatalities

THE total number of fatalities on Europe's railways declined from 1095 in 2011 to 1011 in 2012 according to the International Union of Railways' (UIC) annual Railway Accidents in Europe report, which was released at the end of December.

January 9, 2014 | North America

Testing begins on new Washington metro trains

WASHINGTON Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) formally launched trial operation of the first Kawasaki 7000 series metro train at Greenbelt station on January 6.

January 9, 2014 | Central/South America

Egis Rail wins Salvador metro contract

CCR, the build-and-operate concessionaire constructing the second phase of the metro network in the Brazilian city of Salvador, has awarded Egis Rail a contract to provide systems engineering services for the project.

January 8, 2014 | Track

Tata Steel to supply rails to SNCF

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has awarded Tata Steel a contract to supply more than 200,000 tonnes of rail for use on conventional and high-speed lines across France.

January 8, 2014 | Main line

Stagecoach to retain South West Trains until 2019

BRITAIN's Department for Transport (DfT) has published a prior information notice in the Official Journal of the European Union for the direct award of a new contract to Stagecoach for the operation of the South West Trains (SWT) franchise.

January 7, 2014 | Europe

Latvia and Lithuania to cooperate on international operations

LATVIAN Railways (LDZ) president Mr Ugis Magonis and the CEO of Lithuanian Railways (LG) Mr Stasis Dailidka signed a series of agreements in the Latvian capital Riga last month aimed at improving and expanding cross-border operations between the two countries.

January 7, 2014 | Metros

Brussels builds urban rail capacity

THE sustained growth in public transport usage in Brussels in recent years has mirrored a rapid increase in the city's population, which swelled from 960,000 in 2000 to 1.14 million in 2012 and is expected to reach 1.31 million this year.

January 7, 2014 | Rolling stock

Alstom to supply traction systems for Chinese metro trains

ALSTOM and its Chinese joint venture Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment (Satee) have been awarded two contracts worth a total of €75m to supply traction systems for more than 550 metro cars for the cities of Chengdu and Xi'an.