RUSSIAN locomotive and rolling stock manufacturer Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with EMD to study potential opportunities for jointly developing a new range of diesel locomotives for 1520mm-gauge railways in Russia and the CIS region.

THE first train consisting of six Vossloh three-axle G6 shunters has been dispatched to BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

ANSALDO STS has been awarded a contract by Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), United States, to upgrade a 72.4km section between Speonk and Montauk from dark territory to signalled territory.

TRANSPORT for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has signed an option worth £18m with a consortium of Bombardier and Vossloh Kiepe for the supply of 10 additional Flexity Swift light rail vehicles (LRVs).

BRITISH Columbia transport authority TransLink has awarded Bombardier a five-year contract to operate West Coast Express commuter rail services from Vancouver to Mission City, British Columbia.

GERMANY'S Federal Railway Authority (EBA) has finally approved the fleet of Siemens Velaro-D (class 407) ICEs ordered by German Rail (DB) for use on the German network, two years after they were originally due to enter service.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has exercised an option for an additional 30 Régio 2N double-deck emus from Bombardier in a €277m deal which is being funded by the regions of Picardie, Midi-Pyrénées and Pays-de-la-Loire.

THE latest SCI Rail Business Index regarding the current and expected business environment, based on a survey of top managers from around 100 representative companies from the global rail industry, reveals a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2014.

SINGAPORE's Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsein Loong inaugurated the initial 4.3km section of the city's Downtown Line on December 21.

THE DUTCH house of representatives launched a parliamentary investigation commission on December 19 into the collapse of Fyra high-speed services between the Netherlands and Belgium and the subsequent cancellation of the contract for AnsaldoBreda V250 trains.