FOUR European railway associations plus the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) are calling for urgent action to accelerate the excessively slow and cumbersome processes for the certification of trains in Europe which they argue are far too costly and are harming rail's competitive position.
THE Argentine government has announced a $US 327m order for 300 new 25kV ac emu cars from CSR, China, to replace the existing emu fleet on the General Roca 1676mm-gauge commuter lines south of Buenos Aires.
NATIONAL Express has placed its first rolling stock order for its German regional rail operations, with the awarding of €170m contract to Bombardier for 35 Talent 2 emus.
LOCOMOTIVE leasing company Mitsui Rail Capital Europe (MRCE) has ordered 15 Vectron four-axle ac electric locomotives from Siemens which are intended for use on cross-border operations between Germany, Austria and Hungary.
NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) says it is considering abandoning its fleet of V250 trains as it is unconvinced that AnsaldoBreda will be able to correct the numerous faults on the trains within an acceptable period.
GERMANY's Eurogate Intermodal and ICE Holding, Hungary, acquired all remaining shares in railfreight operator Floyd, one of the first open-access operators to enter the Hungarian market, for an undisclosed sum.
SERBIAN Railways (ZS) president Mr Dragoljub Simonović and Mr Sergey Pavlov, CEO of Russian Railways (RZD) subsidiary RZD International, have signed a $US 800m loan agreement which will finance the renewal of rolling stock and infrastructure in what is described as the largest investment in the Serbian network for decades.
ŠKODA Transportation's newest LRV, the 26T, began testing in Pilsen, Czech Republic, on May 15 ahead of delivery of the first two vehicles to the northern Hungarian city of Miskolc in July.
SOUTHERN California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) has become the first US operator to place an order for diesels meeting the latest US EPA Tier 4 emissions standards, after awarding Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) a contract to supply 20 F125 Spirit Locomotives.
PASSENGER Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has awarded a consortium of Thales and local partner Maziya the Rand 1.86bn ($US 186m) Western Cape New Signalling contract, which is a key part of Prasa's National New Signalling Programme.
