A subsidiary of Watco Companies, United States, is developing plans to launch passenger services between Oklahoma’s two largest cities.

THE city of Gatineau, Quebec, has unveiled proposals for a 26km light rail network which, according to its promoters, will help encourage movement of the population in the west of the city to downtown Gatineau and Ottawa, Ontario.

THE Welsh government has announced plans to build a £100m “world-leading” rail testing centre which it says would offer facilities for an innovation accelerator, rolling stock and infrastructure testing, storage, decommissioning, maintenance and servicing.

SÃO Paulo commuter rail operator Paulista Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM) has awarded Korea's Hyundai Rotem with a Won 80bn ($USD 71.6m) contract for rolling stock maintenance.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has signed a framework agreement with CRRC Zhuzhou for 20 “AZLok” hybrid shunting locomotives to be used by infrastructure manager DB Netz, possibly as maintenance and emergency vehicles, the first time the Chinese company has exported to Germany. An initial batch of four locomotives has been ordered under the agreement signed in Berlin on June 20.

BRITISH infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has invited suppliers to bid for 10-year track maintenance contracts worth up to £5bn, as part of a plan to introduce three new geographically-focused alliances between NR, designers and construction suppliers.

BRITAIN’s East Coast franchise returned to government-owned operation on June 25 with the launch of London North Eastern Railway-branded (LNER) services following the failure of the eight-year Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) franchise jointly held by Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin (10%).

CZECH open-access operator Leo Express announced on June 20 that tickets have gone on sale for its new Prague - Krakow service, which will begin operating on July 20.

AFTER a three-year hiatus, passenger services resumed between Tabriz in northwest Iran and Van, Turkey on June 18.

THE Delhi metro network reached the city of Bahadurgarh in Haryana state on June 24 with the opening of the 11.2km western extension of the Green Line (Line 5) from Mundka to City Park.