GROWTH in the business market and a further rise in travellers from the United States have helped Eurostar to achieve record first-quarter ridership, according to the latest figures from the international high-speed operator.

VIA Rail Canada issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) on April 16 for a contract to supply 32 new trains to replace the current fleet on its flagship Quebec City - Windsor corridor.

GREATER Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Metrolinx have agreed to work together on a study looking at a potential rail connection between the Regional Transit and Passenger Centre at Toronto Pearson International Airport and the Kitchener rail corridor.

SIEMENS announced on April 17 that the first painted bodyshell for the new fleet of G1 trains for Nuremberg U-Bahn Line U1 has been completed at its Simmering plant in Vienna.

THE French prime minister, Mr Edouard Philippe announced during a visit to the Bonneuil-sur-Marne freight terminal in southern Paris on April 16 that French National Railways’ (SNCF) loss-making rail freight unit Fret SNCF will be recapitalised and spun off as a separate legal entity, albeit with SNCF retaining 100% of the capital.

TRENORD, the joint venture between North Milan Railways (FNM) and Trenitalia which operates regional services in the Italian region of Lombardy has unveiled plans to refurbish 33% of its rolling stock fleet at a cost of €415m.

BRITAIN’s infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has awarded a £115m track maintenance contract to Balfour Beatty covering NR’s Anglia and South East routes.

SWEDISH open-access inter-city operator MTR Express has filed a complaint against SJ with the Swedish Competition Authority claiming the incumbent operator is abusing its dominant position in the market by blocking access to its online sales portal.

CZECH and Slovak open-access operator Regiojet received its first two Traxx multi-system electric locomotives from Bombardier on April 14.

VOSSLOH has completed an audit of the track on the 13km light rail network in Le Havre, France, operated by Porte Océane Transport (CTPO), a subsidiary Transdev, to determine its current condition and future maintenance needs.