MUNICIPAL authorities in the Colombian capital Bogota have revised plans for the city's first metro line to include a 4km western extension beyond the proposed terminus at Portal Americas in Kennedy to serve the district of Bosa.

PLANS to establish commuter rail services in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion have taken a step forward after Korean Rail Network Authority (KRNA) and the engineering faculty of the Asuncion National University (Fiuna) were appointed to carry out a feasibility study into the project.

THE governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Mr César Duarte, signed a letter of intent in Beijing on July 31 with a group of Chinese companies to build the rail element of the San Jerónimo Santa Teresa Master Plan.

BRAZIL's federal government says it has received 81 study proposals from 19 groups for the construction of six new railway corridors totalling 4676km.

THE government of the Mexican state of Nuevo León has awarded CAF, Spain, a Peso 3.26bn ($US 251m) contract to supply and maintain 22 trains for Line 3 of the Monterrey metro.

SERVICES on the first metro line in the Peruvian capital Lima reached the northwestern suburb of San Juan de Lurigancho on July 26 with the opening of the 12.4km second phase from Miguel Grau to Bayóvar.

ARGENTINEAN President Mrs Christina Kirchner and transport and interior minister Mr Florencio Randazzo officially launched the new fleet of Chinese-built suburban EMUs for Buenos Aires' Sarmiento Line on July 21, when the first trains entered passenger service between Once and Moreno.

ARGENTINA and China signed a $US 2.1bn loan agreement during the state visit of Chinese president Mr Xi Jinping to Buenos Aires on July 18, which will be used to fund the revival of the metre-gauge Belgrano Cargas network.

A consortium of Barcelona Metropolitan Transport, Ayesa, Spain, and Louis Berger, United States, has been awarded a $US 32m five-year contract by Metro Panama to provide project management, coordination and technical assistance on the construction of the second metro line in Panama City.

CUBA completed construction of its first new railway for more than two decades on July 1 with the opening of the 65km link between Havana and the port of Mariel, which provides access to a new container terminal.