TRANSPORT for New South Wales (TfNSW) has appointed Downer EDI as managing contractor for the Newcastle light rail project.

THE government of the Australian state of New South Wales has announced the two consortia that have been shortlisted for the contract to construct twin tunnels under Sydney Harbour that will link Sydney Metro North West project, which is already under construction with the planned Sydney Metro City & Southwest.

WESTERN Australia’s Transport Minister, Mr Dean Nalder, announced on July 29 a plan to ensure Perth’s transport network grows in order to cater for the increased population of 3.5 million.

CONSOLIDATED Land and Rail Australia (Clara), a private Australian consortium, has launched an ambitious bid to build a high-speed rail network linking Melbourne and Sydney, which it says will not require any government funding, but instead will be financed by value capture from increases in adjacent local land values.

AFTER several years of delays, the state government of South Australia has invited expressions of interest for a $A 238m ($US 182m) jointly-funded state and federal project to separate freight and commuter rail lines at Torrens Junction in the Adelaide Parklands.

THE board of KiwiRail has approved the acquisition of 15 additional DL class locomotives from CRRC Corporation subsidiary Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock for delivery in 2018, despite ongoing issues with asbestos contamination with the fleet of 48 units already delivered to New Zealand.

AUCKLAND Transport CEO Mr David Warburton has confirmed that the cost of constructing Auckland's City Rail Link will rise by $NZ 500m ($US 362m) to more than $NZ 3bn because of the need for further unspecified improvements to the existing network.

THE Australian state of Victoria has signed a seven-year, $A 700m ($US 525m) contract with NTT Data for the continued operation of its myki smart card public transport ticketing system that covers Melbourne and many parts of Victoria.

AUSTRALIAN locomotive manufacturer and maintenance provider UGL has announced it will supply three 1067mm-gauge PH37 PowerHaul locomotives to Pacific National (PN), the first order for the type from an Australian customer.

ALSTOM has successfully installed and tested Australia’s first ETCS Level 2 deployment as part of a pilot covering the trackside and on-board equipment of four test trains in an area of 11km in the south of Sydney.