BRITISH open-access operator Direct Rail Services (DRS) has awarded Vossloh a contract to supply 10 additional class 68 UKLight diesel-electric locomotives, taking its total fleet to 25 units.

ALL Aboard Florida, the inter-city passenger subsidiary of Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) has selected Siemens to supply locomotives and rolling stock for the initial phase of its passenger services which will link Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach from late 2016.

SWISS Federal Railways has awarded ABB Switzerland a contract worth around SFr 69.2m ($US 75.4m) to supply new traction equipment for its fleet of 119 Re460 electric locomotives as part of a SFr 230m mid-life refurbishment programme.

LOCOMOTIVE leasing company Akiem has signed a contract worth €33m with Bombardier for the delivery of 10 140km/h Traxx DC locomotives, with an option for up to 10 additional units placing the value of the contract at approximately €65m.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has received the first of 19 Traxx F140 MS multi-system electric locomotives from Bombardier, which will operate Dutch domestic services on HSL South following the cancellation of its order for AnsaldoBreda V250 trains.

THE first of 20 class SM42 single-cab diesel locomotives being rebuilt by Newag, Poland, for PKP Intercity (PKP IC) has entered service with the Polish long-distance operator.

POLAND's largest railfreight operator PKP Cargo announced on August 19 that it will invest nearly Zlotys 200m ($US 63.7m) in 10 new multi-system electric locomotives to support the expansion of its international business.

TRANSMASHHOLDING (TMH) presented the first four-unit 4ES5 electric locomotive for Russian Railways (RZD) to the governor of the Rostov region Mr Vasiliy Golubev, and RZD president Mr Vladimir Yakunin at Rostov-on-Don station earlier this month.

SOUTH AFRICAN state-owned rail and port operator Transnet has secured a Rand 6bn ($US 563m) funding guarantee from US export credit agency US-Exim to fund the acquisition of 233 diesel-electric locomotives from GE Transportation.

ON August 7 Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) subsidiary ÖBB Produktion published a tender for five second-hand electric locomotives certified to operate in Slovenia.