POTSDAM marked a milestone in a €50m project to upgrade its 29km tram network on September 7, when the first Siemens Combino LRV to be lengthened from 30.5m to 41.6m arrived back in the German city.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) has eliminated all but two of the companies bidding for a contract to supply a fleet of 60 double-deck EMUs totalling 330 cars leaving only Alstom and Siemens in the running.

ITALIAN State Railways (FS) has appointed Mr Orazio Iacono as CEO and chief operating officer of its train operating subsidiary Trenitalia, succeeding Mrs Barbara Morgante, who becomes head of foreign subsidiaries with FS.

SINGAPORE Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on September 15 that it has awarded SMRT Trains a nine-year contract to operate the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), which is due to open in phases from 2019 onwards.

SAUDI Railway Company (SAR) plans to extend its daily Riyadh - Majmaah - Al Qassim passenger service north to Hail, Al Jauf and Qurayyat and introduce an overnight train on the same route on December 24. This will effectively mark the completion of the 2750km North-South Railway project.

FRANCE’s Court of Auditors has expressed concern over the fragility of French National Railways’ (SNCF) freight operations in a communication to government ministers which calls into question the “coherence and effectiveness” of French freight transport policy.

CONTRACTORS working on London’s Crossrail project have completed track installation work, marking another key milestone in the £14.8bn project ahead of the opening of the Elizabeth Line in December 2018.

ITALIAN State Railways (FS) completed its acquisition of Greek national train operator Trainose on September 14, when the final documents authorising the transaction were signed at the Greece - Italy High Level Cooperation Council summit in Corfu.

LOCOMOTIVE leasing company Mitsui Rail Capital Europe (MRCE) has placed an order with Siemens for 30 Vectron locomotives, with an option for 20 additional units.

INDIAN prime minister Mr Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Mr Shinzo Abe officially launched civil works on India’s first high-speed line on September 14, when the two leaders laid a foundation stone in Ahmedabad for the 508km line to Mumbai.