THE first of two 13-car Talgo trains acquired by the state of Oregon with the aid of stimulus funds from the United States government entered service on July 26.

THE government of the Australian state of Queensland has awarded a consortium led by Thiess Australia a $A 650m ($US 583m) contract to build the second phase of the $A 1.15bn Moreton Bay Rail Link.

A new rail link from the Italian city of Bari to Karol Wojtyla Airport was inaugurated on July 19, when the mayors of seven municipalities served by the Bari – Barletta line attended the opening of the 7km electrified connection.

THE World Bank has agreed to lend $US 205m to the municipality of Quito to support construction of the first metro line in the Ecuadorian capital, which is due to open in 2016.

BUENOS AIRES metro authority Sbase has announced that it is acquiring 73 series 6000 vehicles from Madrid Metro for use on Line B, following the opening of the 2km western extension of the line from Los Incas to Juan Manuel de Rosas on July 26.

OKLAHOMA Department of Transportation and the United States Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have launched the Tulsa-Oklahoma City Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan to evaluate the feasibility of launching passenger services between the state's two largest cities.

TRANSPORT authorities in Saxony-Anhalt have published preliminary information for the tendering of regional services on non-electrified lines in German state, the so-called Saxony-Anhalt diesel network.

CORSICAN Railways (CFC) has awarded French National Railways (SNCF) subsidiary SNCF Partnerships a three-year contract to provide staff training and technical assistance on the island's 232km metre-gauge network.

THE Philippines' transport secretary Mr Joseph Emilio Abaya has told the domestic media that after three postponements, the four consortia which have prequalified for the contract to extend Line LRT-1 to Bacoor in Cavite will finally submit their bids on August 15.

ARRIYADH Development Authority (ADA) announced the winning bidders on July 28 for three design and build contracts worth almost $US 22.5bn for the construction of a 176.7km six-line automated metro network in the Saudi capital Riyadh.