PORTUGUESE rail freight operator Medway (formerly CP Carga) has awarded Siscog, Portugal, a contract to roll out a new scheduling and management solution for its locomotives and train crew.

THE Supervisory Board and Steering Committee of Czech Railways (ČD) has approved the procurement of more than 160 vehicles for long-distance and regional services worth about CKr 20bn ($US 910m).

SUDAN’s Ministry of Roads and Bridges signed an agreement with two Chinese companies in Khartoum on November 7 for a 12-month feasibility study into the construction of a 3400km railway linking the Red Sea with its landlocked neighbour Chad.

UZBEKISTAN Railways (UTY) has launched a tender for 24 electric locomotives divided into 16 freight and eight passenger units to address what it describes as a chronic shortage of locomotives and to cater for traffic growth.

LOWER Saxony Transport Authority (LNVG) signed a contract with Alstom and gas supplier Linde Group in Wolfsburg on November 9 for a fleet of 14 Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel multiple units, which will replace diesel trains on non-electrified routes in northwest Germany from 2021 onwards.

ITALIAN State Railways' (FS) rail freight subsidiaries TX Logistik and Mercitalia Rail have reportedly selected Bombardier as preferred bidder for a contract to supply and maintain up to 125 electric locomotives in a move which could secure the immediate future of the Bombardier plant at Vado Ligure near Genoa.

DB Regio and Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) presented a one-to-one double-deck mock-up of their Idea Train in Nuremberg on November 7 showing innovative product and service concepts for regional services.

FAIVELEY Transport announced on November 7 that it received orders with a total value of more than $US 150m from the RailConnect NSW consortium of Hyundai Rotem, UGL and Mitsubishi Electric Australia to supply equipment for NSW TrainLink’s New InterCity Fleet.

OPERATORS of German and Austrian tram-train networks using the so-called Karlsruhe model announced on November 8 that they will pool their resources to jointly order rolling stock for their respective systems.

GREATER Stockholm Local Transport (SL) announced on November 7 that it has cancelled its contract with Ansaldo STS for the resignalling of the metro Red Line “with immediate effect.