GE Transportation is set to supply at least 1000 diesel locomotives to Indian Railways (IR) after GE Global Sourcing India was selected as preferred bidder for a Rs 220bn ($US 4.2bn) contract to establish a new joint venture production facility at Marhoura in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, which will build 700 3.36MW and 300 4.47MW units over the next decade.

ALL Aboard Florida, the inter-city passenger subsidiary of Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) announced on November 9 that its Miami - Fort Lauderdale - Orlando service will be branded Brightline and also revealed the first artist's impressions of the fleet of Siemens trains which will enter service when the first phase of the project is launched in mid-2017.

EGYPT's National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has awarded Alstom and its consortium partners contracts worth €187m to supply signalling, telecommunications and electromechanical equipment for the phase 3 extension of Cairo Metro's Line 3.

BRITISH infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) has approved Ricardo Rail's PanMon pantograph monitoring system for a wider rollout across the country's railway network following a successful trial on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

NORFOLK Southern (NS) joined local and state officials in Chicago on November 5 to dedicate a new fleet of GP33ECO environmentally-friendly shunting locomotives at its 47th Street intermodal terminal.

THE president of Venezuela Mr Nicolás Maduro inaugurated the initial phase of Caracas metro Line 5 on November 3.

THE states of California, Illinois and Maryland have placed orders for 34 Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives to boost passenger services in their states under an option included in a framework contract for 222 units signed in 2014.

NEW South Wales minister for transport Mr Andrew Constance unveiled on November 6 a life-size model of the 22 Metropolis metro trains being built by Alstom for Sydney's first metro line.

SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) has launched a plan to address expected increases in the cost of operating its rail network and increasing competition from other modes by cutting expenditure by SFr 550m ($US 552.2m) by 2020 and SFr 1.75bn by 2030.

BRITAIN's National Audit Office (NAO) says the government's decision to sell its 40% stake and preference share in cross-Channel high-speed operator Eurostar in March was primarily driven by its desire to complete the sale before national elections in May rather than wait for a forecast increase in the share price in 2016.