SOUTHEASTERN Pennsylvania Transportation Authority signed a contract with CRRC Tangshan on May 4 for 45 double-deck coaches, which will be used with Septa’s new Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotives on Regional Rail services on the Northeast Corridor.

SWEDEN’s infrastructure manager Trafikverket has awarded a 20-year framework contract for concrete sleepers, fastenings and sleeper pads to Strangbetong Rail, Abetong, and Pandrol.

ALSTOM achieved a 6% increase in sales and a 15% rise in Ebit for the year ending March 31 2017, while its order backlog reached a new record of €34.78bn.

THE Philippines’ transport secretary Mr Arthur Tugade attended a groundbreaking ceremony in Parañaque City on May 4 to mark the official start of construction on the 11.7km southern extension of Line LRT1 to Bacoor in Cavite province.

A consortium of Barcelona metro operator TMB and Spanish engineering consultancy Ayesa has been awarded a three-year contract to supervise a project to increase capacity on Lima metro Line 1.

CANADIAN Pacific Railway (CP) and K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) officially opened the Bethune (Legacy) Project potash mine and rail connection in Saskatchewan on May 2.

TÜV SÜD announced on May 3 that it has acquired Swedish Company MiW Rail Technology for an undisclosed fee, as it aims to strengthen its position in the Scandinavian rail market.

THE French city of St Etienne officially launched its new fleet of CAF low-floor LRVs on May 3.

THE mayor of Quito Mr Mauricio Rodas announced on May 3 that international lenders have accepted changes to the contracting structure for the Quito metro project after Brazilian construction company Odebrecht pulled out of the consortium building the line.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) and London-based mobile point-of-sale (MPoS) specialist ECR Retail Systems (ECR) have completed Phase 1 of a three year project by deploying a real-time mobile payment solution across SNCF’s entire fleet of trains in France, including the delivery of nearly 1500 lightweight ECR Go MPoS devices.