THE first major contract for the €3.7bn western extension of Paris RER Line E was awarded on February 10, when French National Railways (SNCF) president Mr Guillaume Pepy and Siemens president Mr Joe Kaeser signed a €186m contract for the rollout of CBTC on the core section of the east-west line.
METRO do Porto, which operates the 67km light rail network in Porto, Portugal, has awarded a €10.5m contract to Railway Equipment Maintenance Company (EMEF) to overhaul part of its fleet of Bombardier Eurotram LRVs.
ITALIAN State Railways (FS) CEO Mr Renato Mazzoncini and Iranian Islamic Republic Railways (RAI) president Dr Mohsen Pour Seyed Aghaei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tehran on February 9 pledging to co-operate in the development of Iran's high-speed rail network and the modernisation of RAI's rolling stock fleet.
THE Bihar state cabinet signed off the detailed project report (DPR) for the first phase of the metro network in Patna on February 9, referring the project to the Indian government for final approval.
THE government of the Brazilian state of São Paulo says it will seek assistance from Korea to develop plans for a network of frequent regional services linking the city of São Paulo with surrounding cities.
AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) has built a full-size mock-up of an interior concept for its next generation of couchette coaches, which will be used to evaluate passenger reaction to the proposed interior.
THE president of Friuli Venezia Giulia region Mrs Debora Serracchiani signed a framework agreement with Italian Railway Network (RFI) CEO Mr Maurizio Gentile in Rome on February 3 setting out investment priorities for the Italian region's railway network over the next 17 years.
FRENCH prime minister Mr Manuel Valls confirmed on February 6 that the government will contribute a further €500m towards the €3.7bn western extension of Paris RER Line E from St Lazare to Mantes-la-Jolie.
THE first of 52 Azur metro trains being supplied to Montreal Transport (STM) by Alstom and Bombardier entered passenger service on the Orange Line of the Montreal metro on February 7, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the metro.
IZMIR celebrated the opening of the latest addition to its Izban suburban rail network on February 6 when the 27km extension of the Southern Line from Cumaovasi to Tepeköy was inaugurated by Turkey's transport and communications minister Mr Binali Yildirim and the mayor of Izmir Mr Aziz Kocaoglu.
