ANSALDOBREDA has delivered the first two Sirio LRVs to the Chinese city of Zhuhai, with the remaining eight set to be assembled in China by its domestic partner CNR Dalian.

A consortium of infrastructure investors has acquired Porterbrook Rail Finance, one of the three original rolling stock leasing companies (Roscos) set up in 1994 as part of the privatisation of British Rail.

PARIS Transport Authority (RATP) has awarded Siemens a €45m contract to supply communications-based train control (CBTC) for the 6km, four-station northern extension of metro Line 14 to Mairie de Saint-Ouen.

THE British government has announced plans to sell its 40% stake in cross-Channel high-speed operator Eurostar to help reduce the national debt.

The British Treasury has set a deadline of October 31 for companies to prequalify to purchase the shares and it hopes to select investors during the first quarter of 2015. UBS is advising on the sale.

VIENNA celebrated the official opening of its new central station on October 10 following a seven-year project that cost €987m and was funded by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), the city of Vienna, European Union sources and property developments.

TRANSNET Engineering has begun assembling a third batch of 91 1067mm-gauge GE type C30ACi diesel-electric locomotives for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) at its Koedoespoort workshops near Pretoria.

CHICAGO commuter operator Metra has announced that it will replace its ageing coaches and locomotives through a $US 2.4bn phased purchasing programme, the first long-term rolling stock plan in the history of the operator.

This month JR Central will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen, the world's first purpose-built high-speed railway. David Briginshaw explains the significance of this event and charts the development of the Shinkansen.