PAULISTA Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM) has awarded a Reais 21m ($US 7m) contract to the Brazilian subsidiaries of French engineering firms Setec and Egis to provide technical assistance and project management services for the construction of a rail link to São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport.

THE governor of the Brazillian state of São Paulo Mr Geraldo Ackmin officially launched construction on São Paulo metro Line 6 at a ceremony in the north of the city on April 13.

THE first of 27 three-car DMUs being supplied by CNR for commuter services on the metre-gauge Belgrano Sur network in Buenos Aires rolled off the production line at the CNR Tianjin plant in eastern China on April 15.

ARGENTINA's Train of the Clouds was revived on April 4, when the Salta provincial government took over operation of the tourist service.

ITALIAN State Railways (FS) engineering subsidiary Italferr has been awarded a contract by Consorzio Metro Linea 2, the PPP contractor building the second metro line in the Peruvian capital Lima, to provide engineering coordination and integration services for the project.

BRAZILIAN intermodal operator Brado Logistics is planning a Reais 150m ($US 46.8m) investment to expand its operations to Brazil's north-south railway corridor, which is owned by Vale.

A group of international investors has expressed an interest in financing a Reais 16bn ($US 5.1bn) port and rail project to create an export channel for minerals and agricultural products from the northern Brazillian state of Pará to the coastal city of Colares.

AFTER several years with very little activity, plans for a rail tunnel beneath the Peruvian Andes look set to move forward after Peru's minister of transport and communications José Gallardo announced studies will be launched for the $US 2bn project later this year.

Passenger operation is due to begin this month on the first phase of a light rail network in the Brazillian port city of Santos. Keith Barrow previews Brazil's first modern electric LRT system.

ALSTOM has secured a five-year contract worth around €2m from Trensurb, the operator of the metro network in Porto Alegre, to provide preventive maintenance services for the 15 Metropolis trains it recently delivered for Line 1 as part of the FrotaPoa consortium with CAF Brazil.