ALSTOM and GE Transportation have emerged as lowest-price bidders for contracts with a combined value of around Rs 23bn ($US 348m) to establish two new locomotive assembly plants in the Indian state of Bihar.

NORWEGIAN infrastructure manager Jernbaneverket marked the completion of the country's first ERTMS deployment on August 31, when transport minister Mr Ketil Solvik-Olsen officially reopened the 80km Ski – Sarpsborg Østfold Line.

THE world's largest train builder, China's CRRC Corporation, has posted a 6.85% increase in profit "attributable to the owner" and a 61.2% jump in overseas revenue for the six months up to June 30.

KAWASAKI Heavy Industries confirmed on August 24 that it has been awarded a contract to supply eight 10-car 40000 series EMUs to the Seibu Railway for suburban services in the Tokyo area.

POLAND marked the completion of its first completely new main line railway for 40 years on August 30 with the inauguration of the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway (PKM), a 17km non-electrified line linking the cities of Gdansk and Gdynia with Lech Walesa Airport.

GERMANY's Bochum-Gelsenkirchen Tramways (Bogestra) signed a contract worth around €110m with Stadler Pankow on August 27 for a further 42 Variobahn metre-gauge bidirectional low-floor LRVs, which will replace the troubled fleet of NFD6D vehicles.

KRAKOW Transport Authority (MPK) launched its new fleet of 36 Pesa Krakowiak low-floor LRVs on August 30, when the first vehicles entered service on Line 50.

TRIMBLE, United States, announced on August 27 that Irish Rail will be deploying Nexala's R2M remote diagnostics monitoring system across its CAF class 29000 commuter fleet.

THE Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded contracts totalling $US 205.8m to Siemens and Thales to install communications-based train control (CBTC) on New York Subway's Queens Boulevard Line.

XIAMEN has announced plans to build metro line 6 connecting the Haicang, Jimei and Tong'an districts of the city which is located in China's Fujian province.