CZECH Railways (ČD) has confirmed it will lease 10 multi-system Siemens Vectron locomotives to modernise motive power on Prague - Berlin - Hamburg services.

A tender notice for contracts to build and operate an 18.5km light rail line in the Brazilian city of Salvador was published in the official journal of the state of Bahia on May 3.

TRIAL operation began on May 1 on the eastern section of the 51km Klang Valley MRT Sungai Buloh - Kajang Line (Line MRT1) in Kuala Lumpur.

RB Rail, the company set up to oversee the Rail Baltica high-speed rail project to link the three Baltic states to Poland, has appointed its management team and published the results of a cost-benefit analysis.

SOUTHEASTERN Pennsylvania Transportation Authority signed a contract with CRRC Tangshan on May 4 for 45 double-deck coaches, which will be used with Septa’s new Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotives on Regional Rail services on the Northeast Corridor.

THE Philippines’ transport secretary Mr Arthur Tugade attended a groundbreaking ceremony in Parañaque City on May 4 to mark the official start of construction on the 11.7km southern extension of Line LRT1 to Bacoor in Cavite province.

A consortium of Barcelona metro operator TMB and Spanish engineering consultancy Ayesa has been awarded a three-year contract to supervise a project to increase capacity on Lima metro Line 1.

THE French city of St Etienne officially launched its new fleet of CAF low-floor LRVs on May 3.

THE mayor of Quito Mr Mauricio Rodas announced on May 3 that international lenders have accepted changes to the contracting structure for the Quito metro project after Brazilian construction company Odebrecht pulled out of the consortium building the line.

DETAILS of plans for a major expansion of the Seattle light rail network were announced by Sound Transit on April 27.