FINNISH minister of transport Mrs Merja Kyllönen unveiled the first of a new fleet of 40 low-floor LRVs for Helsinki City Transport (HKL) at Transtech's Otanmäki facility on June 13.
BRITAIN's Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed on June 14 that it has reached financial close with the Siemens/Cross London Trains consortium on a £1.6bn contract to finance, supply and maintain the train fleet for London's Thameslink commuter network.
THE latest addition to the metro network in the Chinese city of Chengdu was inaugurated on June 8 with the launch of commercial services on the 8.7km western extension of Line 2 from Chandianzi Bus Station to Xipu.
A ceremony was held at the headquarters of Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta on June 11 to mark the signing if the first three civil works contracts for the initial 15.2km phase of the city's metro network.
A team of Japanese consultants has completed a feasibility study for the proposed $US 1.7bn reconstruction of the 640km metre-gauge line between Myanmar's largest city Yangon and the northern city of Mandalay.
THE Peoples Committee of Ho Chi Minh City signed a contract with Hitachi on June 11 for Metro Line 1 Package 3, which covers electrical and mechanical works, trackwork, and rolling stock for the first phase of the city's metro network.
ABELLIO Rail NRW signed a contract with Stadler Pankow on June 12 for a fleet of 20 five-car Flirt emus, which will be used on the Dutch-German Lower Rhine Network from December 2016.
SPAIN's Ministry of Transport this week reported that ridership on Renfe AVE services has risen 14% year-on-year in the last four months to 4.7 million passengers, following an 11% cut in all tourist class tickets in early February.
THE High Commission for Riyadh Development (HCRD) says that "three major global consortia" have submitted technical and financial offers for the Riyadh Metro project, a six-line driverless network which will eventually encompass 177km and 96 stations in the Saudi capital.
ITALY's antitrust authority has announced it is launching an investigation into Italian State Railways (FS) and its subsidiaries following allegations by open-access high-speed operator NTV that the national railway has engaged in anticompetitive practices against the newcomer.
