CAF's third-quarter profits for the period ending September 30 have been adversely affected by unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations and particularly the devaluation of the Brazilian Real against the euro.

SINGAPORE's Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced the alignment and station locations for the sixth and final phase of the Circle Line (CCL6) on October 29, confirming that it will complete the 36km loop by 2025.

ITALY's open-access high-speed operator NTV has awarded a €460m contract to Alstom for the supply and maintenance for 20 years of a fleet of eight Pendolino tilting high-speed trains.

INDONESIAN Railways (PT KAI) signed a letter of intent with GE Transportation on October 26 for a multi-year maintenance service agreement covering 50 1067mm-gauge CC206 diesel-electric locomotives ordered by PT KAI last year for use on passenger and freight trains in Java and Sumatra.

THE US rail industry's push to extend the congressionally-imposed deadline for the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) yielded a breakthrough on October 28, when the Senate passed the Surface Transportation Extension Act 2015 (HR 3819) which authorises federal funding for the Highway Trust Fund and gives the railways three more years to roll out PTC.

DUTCH secretary of state for infrastructure Mrs Wilma Mansveld resigned on October 28 following the publication of a report into the Fyra high-speed fiasco, which places the blame for the debacle squarely with various current and former government ministers as well as Netherlands Railways (NS) and Belgian National Railways (SNCB).

THE Metropolitan District of Quito and Quito Metro announced on October 27 that they have selected a consortium of Acciona, Spain, and Odebrecht, Brazil as preferred bidder for the $US 1.54bn main construction contract for the first metro line in the Ecuadorian capital.

THURINGIA's Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture announced on October 28 that South Thuringia Railway (STB), a 50:50 joint venture between Erfurt Railway (EB) and Hessen State Railways (HLB), has been selected as preferred bidder for a contract to operate the South Thuringia Diesel Network for 11 years from December 2017.

THE United States House of Representatives approved a bill on October 27 authorising federal funding for highway and transit projects until the end of November but, crucially for the country's railways, also extends the deadline for implementing Positive Train Control by at least three years.

ROME-based open-access operator Italian Railway Company (CFI) announced on October 23 that it is acquiring Italian railfreight operator RailOne for €8.6m from Gruppo Toto.