Keith Barrow

ABELLIO Rail Baden-Württemberg has exercised a second option with Bombardier for four additional five-car Talent 2 EMUs, to supplement the 48 trains it has already ordered for the state’s regional Network 1a (Neckar Network).

THE European Commission (EC) has approved the acquisition of Italian open-access high-speed operator Italo-NTV by the US-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) III equity fund.

CAMBODIA moved a step closer to the restoration of rail links between its capital Phnom Penh and Bangkok on April 4 with the launch of passenger services on the 48km section of the Northern Line between Sisophon and Poipet on the border with Thailand.

OPERATIONAL testing began on the Riyadh metro network on April 4, when a two-car Alstom Metropolis train for the Purple Line (Line 6) ran under its own power.

TRAMS have returned to the streets of El Paso, Texas, after an a 44-year absence with the start of dynamic testing on the $US 97m El Paso Streetcar line.

THE first Nippon Sharyo metro cars for the initial phase of the Jakarta MRT project were unloaded at the Indonesian port of Tanjung Priok on the evening of April 4 after completing their sea voyage from Japan.

POLAND’s largest rail freight operator PKP Cargo signed a Zlotys 388m ($US 113m) contract with Newag on April 4 for the modernisation of 60 Soviet-built SM48 diesel-electric heavy shunting locomotives.

THE Finnish Transport Agency (FTA) has appointed three engineering consultancies to complete a master plan for a 95km high-speed line between Espoo and Salo, a key component of proposals to reduce journey times and increase capacity on the Helsinki - Turku corridor.

TESTING of Swiss Federal Railways’ (SBB) new fleet of RABEe 501 Giruno high-speed EMUs reached a milestone over the Easter weekend, when one of trains carried out a series of 275km/h runs in the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

HUNGARY’s national passenger operator MÁV-Start has initiated a project to build a further 70 IC+ long-distance coaches at its Szolnok workshops.