IRJ at IHHA 2015, Perth, Australia: TRANSNET says it is close to completing a study on a new heavy-haul railway which would enable landlocked Botswana to export its vast coal reserves through the South African port of Richards Bay.

VIENNA U-Bahn and tram operator Wiener Linien invited bids for two major tenders on June 18, one for new trains and the other for extensions to the U-Bahn network.

GERMANY's Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) has allocated up to €122m for construction of a new Rhine-Main S-Bahn link from Frankfurt Airport to Frankfurt Stadion and an additional link to Gateway Gardens in its federal programme for financing municipal transport.

STATE Railway of Thailand (SRT) has invited bids for a Baht 4.4bn ($US 131m) tender to supply a fleet of new trains for the airport rail link between Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport.

SHANGHAI Shentong Metro has awarded a Yuan 808m ($US 130m) turnkey contract to the CSR Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems joint venture for a new automated peoplemover. Bombardier's share of the contract is Yuan 89m.

SINGAPORE's Ministry of Transport has expressed surprise at suggestions made by Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission's (Spad) that the planned Kuala Lumpur - Singapore high-speed line should terminate short of the border between the two countries.

SWEDISH train leasing company Transitio has awarded Stadler a SKr 3.5bn ($US 429m) contract to supply 33 four-car Kiss double-deck EMUs for regional services radiating from Stockholm.

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) says it will award a £260m contract to Bombardier for 45 EMUs for the expanding London Overground rail network. Delivery of the trains will start in 2018.

TRANSPORT for NSW, which operates the Sydney light rail network, is seeking a buyer for its fleet of six Variotram LRVs which are being replaced by new vehicles supplied by CAF, Spain.