UNION Pacific (UP) increased net earnings by 18% to $US 5.2bn last year, up from $US 4.4bn in 2013, while it says operating income was also up 18% at $US 8.8bn.

A COURT in Vienna has rejected an appeal by Siemens against public transport operator Wiener Linien's decision to award Bombardier a contract worth up to €562m for up to 156 low-floor LRVs.

KUWAIT's Municipal Council approved construction of the Kuwaiti section of the Gulf States Railway at an extraordinary meeting on January 22.

BELGIUM's Mobility and Transport Federal Public Services (FPS) has awarded Mott MacDonald a contract to independently review the €2bn national rollout of ETCS currently being implemented by infrastructure manager Infrabel.

PROPOSALS to connect Stockport to the Manchester Metrolink light rail network were published by Stockport Council on January 22 as part of a broader rail plan for the area, which has been developed in consultation with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

TRANSPORTS Ciutat Comtal (TCC), a joint venture between Barcelona metro operator TMB and Catalonia's largest privately-owned public transport operator Moventia, has been selected for a 10-year concession to operate and maintain the light rail and bus networks in Portugal's second city Porto.

EUROTUNNEL has announced record revenues for 2014, following a 7% growth in consolidated revenues, which reached €1.2bn.

DELHI Metro Rail Corporation has awarded Alstom two contracts worth more than $US 75m to supply signalling, telecommunications, and electrification equipment for the first phase of the metro network in Kochi, India.

INDONESIA's transport minister Mr Ignasius Jonan announced on January 22 that proposals to build a high-speed line linking the country's two largest cities have been put on hold for at least five years.

BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG transport authority (NVBW), together with transport authorities in southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Bergstrasse, and Saarland have selected DB Regio for a contract to operate Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn Lot 1 for 17 years from December 2016.