ALSTOM has unveiled the first of 23 Citadis X05 LRVs which will run on the three lines in Caen, France. The LRVs were ordered in November 2016 with the first deliveries due in October 2018 and entry into commercial service scheduled for September 2019.

ALSTOM has been awarded a 15-year contract by Metro Trains Sydney (MTS) for the maintenance of rolling stock and signalling on the 36km Sydney Metro Northwest Line, which is currently under construction and due to open in the first half of 2019.

GE Transportation unveiled its first nearly-completed TE33A locomotive bound for Ukrainian Railways (UZ) in Erie, United States, on June 10. The first of 30 12-cylinder 3355kW units should be transported to the Ukraine in a few weeks where the final 10% will be completed.

TAIPEI City Government’s Systemwide E&M Project Office (Sempo) has awarded Alstom and Taiwanese engineering and contracting services company CTCI a contract to supply an integrated metro system for Taipei metro Line 7 phase one. The total contract value is €378m, while Alstom’s share is worth close to €220m.

POLISH coal mining company JSW and national rail freight operator PKP Cargo have agreed to cooperate to research, analyse and possibly produce new types of hydrogen-powered freight wagons and shunting locomotives.
The two companies signed a letter of intent during the Impact’18 conference in Krakow in June covering joint innovative investment projects related to the commercial use of hydrogen fuel.

SLOVAKIA’s competition authority has approved the merger of Budamar Logistics and Optifin Invest with the joint acquisition of freight wagon manufacturer Tatravagónka.

FRANKFURT Transport (VGF) has reportedly been given the green light to proceed with a €50m order for 22 new metro cars from Bombardier to extend the length of trains operating on three U-Bahn lines.

SAUDI Railway Company (SAR) saw a 139% increase in the number of passengers on its trains during the second quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year with an extra 46,000 passengers using the North-South Railway between Riyadh and Hail.

THE positive trend for rail freight carriers in Croatia continued in the first quarter of 2018, resulting in an increase in the volume of goods carried and tonne-km.

THE number of passengers transported by rail in Bosnia during the first quarter of 2018 increased by 22.8% to 113,000, compared with 92,000 during the same quarter in 2017, according to data from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Agency for Statistics.