THE Italian region of Tuscany is to award Pesa a €48m contract to supply 10 dmus, which will be used by Trenitalia on non-electrified lines in the region.

THE National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) announced on November 13 that it will provide cash-strapped Pakistan Railways (PR) with a Rs 6.1bn ($US 63.7m) loan to revive its depleted locomotive fleet.

BRITAIN's Department for Transport (DfT) has approved the acquisition of an additional eight five-car class 377/6 Electrostar emus from Bombardier for the Southern franchise, exercising an option from a contract for 130 vehicles signed in December 2011.

ILE-DE-FRANCE Transport Authority (Stif) and Paris Transport Authority (RATP) have placed a €127m contract with Alstom for 14 MP05 rubber-tyred metro trains for Line 14, a fully-automated line which is being extended 5.8km north from St Lazare to Marie de Saint-Ouen.

THE Western Australian government has placed an order for an additional five three-car B-series emus from a consortium of Bombardier and Downer EDI, to strengthen the Perth suburban fleet.

TRENSURB, the metro operator in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, has selected FrotaPoa, a consortium of CAF and Alstom, as its preferred bidder for a contract to supply 15 four-car emus.

BELARUS Railways (BC) has awarded CZ Loko, Czech Republic, a contract worth almost €20m to supply 20 two-axle 1520mm-gauge diesel shunting locomotives.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) will step up its fleet modernisation programme next year by spending a record Roubles 85bn ($US 2.7bn) on new locomotives, transport minister Mr Maksim Sokolov confirmed on November 8.

BRAZILIAN mining giant Vale has received the first of an order for 14 SD70ACe diesel locomotives from EMD, which will be used by the company's newly-established logistics subsidiary, VLI.

SIEMENS has handed over the first Vectron electric locomotive to German leasing company Railpool, which ordered a batch of six units in December 2010.