OMAN is planning to commence construction of the country's inaugural railway project in the fourth quarter of 2014.

WARSAW Tramways has secured a Zlotys 285m ($US 91.9m) grant from the European Union (EU) which will be used to finance the acquisition of 80 low-floor LRVs from Pesa Bydgoszcz.

NORTHERN Integrated Logistics Corridor (Clin), a joint venture between Brazilian mining company Vale (80%) and Mozambique Ports and Railway (CFM) (20%), has selected Siemens to supply the signalling and train control system for the 912km Nacala Corridor.

FRENCH rail regulator Araf has instructed French Rail Network (RFF) to improve the process for allocating freight train paths after it upheld a complaint brought against the infrastructure manager by operators Euro Cargo Rail, Europorte France, and VFLI.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) celebrated the introduction of its first long-distance double-deck coaches at Moscow Kazan station on November 1, with the launch of the new vehicles on overnight services from Moscow to Adler.

DURING a debate in the Dutch parliament on November 4 finance minister Mr Jeroen Dijsselbloem, revealed that the loss incurred by Netherlands Railways (NS) as a result of the Fyra debacle stands at around €221m and could reach €465m when all costs, including legal fees and the cancellation of the order for AnsaldoBreda V250 trains, are taken into account.

SIEMENS has delivered the first of eight Avenio low-floor LRVs ordered by Munich Transport (MVG) in September 2012 in a deal worth €29m.

Swedish transport authority Trafikverket hosted a matchmaking session with prospective suppliers for a range of infrastructure projects included in Sweden's proposed 2014-2025 Transport Plan at last month's Nordic Rail exhibition in Jönköping. Kevin Smith was in the audience.

The enhancement and expansion of rail services has been central to the development of the public transport network in the autonomous Italian province of South Tyrol. Thomas Widmann, regional minister for mobility, tells Marco Chiandoni how the province's commitment to rail has been rewarded with rapid growth in ridership.

ALGIERS Metro Enterprise (EMA) announced on October 30 that it has selected a consortium of Alstom and Turkish construction company Yapi Merkezi as preferred bidder for the contract to build the first phase of the light rail network in the city of Setif, 270km east of Algiers.