RIO DE JANEIRO commuter rail operator SuperVia has awarded Alstom a contract worth around Reais 300m ($US 142m) to supply 20 four-car Metropolis emus.

FOLLOWING speculation that Pilbara iron-ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) was considering selling its rail infrastructure as a way of reducing its debt liabilities, the company has confirmed to The West Australian newspaper that it has opened up a data room for a small group of potential investors.

THE board of Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) is expected to conclude a contract with Siemens for 100 Desiro ML dual-voltage emus at a board meeting later this month in a deal worth €550-600m.

TWO years and eight months after tunnelling began, TBM Victoria broke through the final section of bored tunnel on Amsterdam's North-South metro line in the early hours of November 30.

SWEDISH national passenger operator SJ announced on November 30 it has concluded a commercial agreement with Amadeus to distribute SJ products through Amadeus Global Rail Sales Platform.

THE Export-Import Bank of the United States has signed a $US 425m credit agreement with Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) and its subsidiary Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty (LKZ) to finance the supply of around 200 GE Evolution Series ES44ACi diesel locomotives.

AFTER several months of uncertainty, an agreement has finally been reached between Austria's infrastructure manager and open-access operators over access to two new lines which can only be used by rolling stock equipped with ETCS Level 2.

EMD officially opened its new locomotive assembly plant at Sete Lagoas in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on November 29.

EUROPEAN Investment Bank vice-president Mrs Magdalena Álavarez Arza and Mr William Vásconez, undersecretary for public finances for the Ecuadorian Ministry of Finance signed a $US 260m loan agreement in Luxembourg on November 29 which will finance the construction of the first metro line in Ecuador's capital city Quito.

INDEPENDENT Transport Company (ITC) is set to complete its takeover of Freight One after the board of Russian Railways (RZD) approved the sale of its remaining 25% plus one shareholding in the company.