THE government of Myanmar is expected to issue international tenders in the coming months for the upgrading of the country's main rail arteries, according to reports in the local media.

THYSSENKRUPP announced on March 11 that it is abandoning the sale of its railway equipment unit ThyssenKrupp GfT Gleistechnik, opting instead to close down the business, which it describes as "unprofitable".

THE expansion of Positive Train Control and upgrading of a key section of the Washington DC – New York – Boston Northeast Corridor (NEC) for 257km/h operation are among the highlights of Amtrak's 2014 infrastructure programme, which was announced on March 10.

BRITISH infrastructure manager Network Rail has awarded an £87m design and build contract to a joint venture of Carillion and Buckingham Group Contracting to carry out infrastructure works on Chiltern Railways' new London Marylebone – Oxford link.

SAMSUNG C&T Engineering and Construction Mongolia has awarded Vossloh Fastening Systems a contract to supply its MNG 30 fastening system for a new heavy-haul line in Mongolia.

THE German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMVIT) has launched a programme of inspections on the German Rail (DB) network with the aim of establishing the true condition of the country's railway infrastructure assets.

BRITAIN's infrastructure manager Network Rail says it will now take until mid-April to repair the storm damage to the southwest main line at Dawlish rather than its original estimate of six weeks.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) managed to achieve a 0.5% increase in turnover to €32.2bn and a 2% rise in Ebitda to €2.8bn in 2013 despite a 1.8% drop in revenue from its Geodis freight business and a 1.4% decline in income from TGV services.

ESTAÇÃO da Luz Participações (EDLP), a Brazilian logistics company, has applied to the federal government to carry out a feasibility study for a new 1200km north-south railway called Ferrogrão.

New railway projects in Thailand have long been hampered by a lack of finance and government bureaucracy. But with a new $US 68.5bn transport infrastructure financing package secured in November, Dr Chula Sukmanop, director of Thailand's Office of Transport Policy and Planning, tells Kevin Smith how this agreement has bred new life into the country's investment plans.