BRITAIN's infrastructure manager, Network Rail, has awarded a 10-year alliance contract to Colas Rail and URS, United States, to renew switches and crossings in southern England and Wales.

TRTrans, a 50:50 joint venture between Alstom and Transmashholding (TMH), Russia, has obtained certification for its new 2ES5 double-unit 25kV ac electric locomotive for Russian Railways (RZD).

SPAIN's high-speed network infrastructure manager Adif AV has announced that it will invite bids for a €342m single 10-year contract to maintain all the telecommunication systems across the entire high-speed rail network.

THE first of eight DMUs being supplied by CAF, Spain, was presented in Cagliari in southern Sardinia on July 25 by the new president of Sardinia Region, Mr Francesco Pigliaru, and transport councillor Mr Massimo Deiana.

STADTWERKE Ulm (SWU) has selected Siemens as preferred supplier for a €31m contract to supply 12 low-floor LRVs for the expansion of the metre-gauge tram network in the German city.

Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Authority (VBB) has published a pre-information notice in the Official Journal of the European Union for the direct award of an interim contract to operate the ring line of the Berlin S-Bahn to DB Regio subsidiary S-Bahn Berlin.

FOLLOWING a shareholders' meeting, the board of Italian Railway Network (RFI) announced on July 24 that it has appointed Mr Maurizio Gentile as the infrastructure manager's new CEO.

THE prime minister of Turkey, Mr Recep Erdogan, officially opened the 245km Eskişehir – Istanbul section of the 533km Ankara – Istanbul high-speed line on July 25.

BALFOUR Beatty and Carillion have announced that they are in talks over a possible merger that could create a £3bn construction and services business.

GERMAN Rail (DB) published its financial results for the first half of 2014 on July 24, revealing that ridership on its trains in Germany increased by 10 million year-on-year to just over 1 billion passengers.