ITALIAN open-access high-speed operator NTV and Alstom have unveiled the design for the eight Pendolinos which NTV ordered in a €460m contract placed in October.

FOLLOWING a European tender, Rhine-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) has acquired 48 class 422 EMUs used on Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn services from German Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Regio.

THE first of 600 X'Trapolis Mega six-car commuter EMUs for Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has been delivered to the operator's Wolmerton depot near Pretoria in readiness for the start of dynamic testing on the South African network.

THE Shift²Rail joint technology initiative published its first call for proposals on December 17, making an initial tranche of €170m in grant funding available for railway research projects in Europe.

INNSBRUCK Transport (IVB) has awarded Bombardier a contract to supply 20 Flexity 2 low-floor LRVs as part of the expansion of the Austrian city's metre-gauge tram network.

TWO Swiss metre-gauge railways - Wynental & Suhrentalbahn (WSB) and Montreux Bernese Overland (MOB) - have issued calls for tender for the supply of new trains.

ALSTOM confirmed on December 15 that it has signed a €160m contract with Hessen State Railways (HLB) to supply 30 Coradia Continental EMUs for the Südhessen-Untermain regional network in central Germany.

TORONTO commuter rail operator Go Transit has taken delivery of its first locomotive to comply with the latest US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 emissions regulations.

GERMAN Rail (DB) finally started passenger operation of its new IC2 double-deck push-pull inter-city trains with the launch of the 2016 timetable on December 13.

STADLER Rail and Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) announced on December 10 that Stadler's US subsidiary will establish a temporary manufacturing and assembly facility in the state as part of the first phase of a 15-year plan to expand the company's presence in the North American market.