NOVEMBER 14 marked an important milestone in the construction of the first metro line in Panama City as Panama's president Mr Ricardo Martinelli was able to travel the full length of the initial 13.7km section of Line 1 during a trial run.

THE latest SCI Rail Business Index regarding the current and expected business environment, based on a survey of top managers from around 100 representative companies from the global rail industry, reveals a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2014.

ECUADOR's National Pre-investment Institute (INP) has awarded Barcelona metro operator TMB a contract worth around $US 1.4m to carry out a prefeasibility study into the construction of an electrified freight network linking key industrial and mining centres with ports on the country's Pacific coast.

SANTIAGO Metro has awarded a joint venture of Arcadis and WorleyParsons a contract to provide engineering consulting services for station design on Line 3 of the Santiago Metro, a new 22.1km link between the northern district of Huechuraba and the city centre.

MOBILIDADE Anhanguera, a consortium of Odebrecht Transport (90%) and Brazilian bus operators (10%), has been selected as preferred bidder for the 35-year PPP concession to build and operate the first light rail line in the Brazilian city of Goiânia.

During the last 50 years, Bolivia has carried out five feasibility studies into connecting its two separate networks, but not one of them has brought the project closer to fruition. With a sixth study underway, Ian Thomson-Newman questions the prospects for a new Atlantic - Pacific rail link.

Chilean State Railways, which operates commuter rail lines in Santiago, Valparaíso and Concepción, is expanding services in all three cities. Ian Thomson-Newman outlines the strategy.

ARGENTINEAN president Mrs Christina Kirchner signed a $US 2.47bn financing agreement with Mr Zhang Chun, CEO of China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in Buenos Aires on December 5, which will fund the renewal of infrastructure and rolling stock on the metre-gauge Belgrano Cargas network.

RAILROAD Development Corporation (RDC), United States, has finally won a six-year fight for compensation over the forced termination of its Guatemala Railways (FVG) concession and has been fully reimbursed with a payment of $US 14.6m.

A consortium of CAF and Thales has won a $US 451.86m contract from Santiago metro to supply and maintain trains and install communications-based train control (CBTC) on two metro lines under construction in the Chilean capital.