IN a move that stunned the global railway industry, Florida's governor Mr Rick Scott announced yesterday that he is turning down $US 2.3 billion in promised federal grants to help build a high-speed line between Orlando and Tampa and eventually to Miami. Scott's fellow Republican, Mr John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, failed in a last-minute plea with the governor to change his mind.

COLOMBIA is in advanced talks with China about building a 220km railway that will link the country's Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and act as an alternative to the Panama Canal.

CHINA'S minister of railways Mr Liu Zhijun has been suspended from his position and is under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations," a term often used in Beijing to describe corruption and abuses of power by officials.

THE FRENCH government has revealed details of 78 public transport projects outside the Paris region which will receive a total of Euros 590 million from the state as part of the Grenelle Environment strategy for sustainable development.

INDIA's oldest metro line, the 25km north - south route in Kolkata, is to be fitted with a new access control and ticketing system. The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), which was created by the Indian Ministry of Railways to support technology development on the country's network, has awarded Spanish IT company Indra a Euros 6 million contract for the work.

UNITED States president Barack Obama is advocating a six-year, $US 53 billion investment in high-speed rail projects as part of his efforts to use infrastructure spending to create jobs. Obama will call for an initial $US 8 billion outlay on high-speed in the budget he is set to release next week.

ISTANBUL Ulasim, Istanbul's urban transport operator, has put 14 new Alstom Citadis LRVs into service following a ceremony attended by Mr Kadir Topbaş, the mayor of Istanbul.

US CLASS 1 BNSF Railway announced on Monday it will invest $US 3.5 billion this year with the aim of strengthening infrastructure and improving operational efficiency.

CONSTRUCTION of a 1500km heavy-haul railway between Botswana's Mmamabula coalfield and the Namibian port of Walvis Bay will begin by August 2012, according to the Namibian government.

AUSTRIA'S first open-access long-distance passenger operator Westbahn could soon launch services between the country's second and third largest cities after Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) withdrew its last through trains on the route.