AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) has presented a second class 1063 prototype last mile locomotive, which has been fitted with batteries and a hydrogen power generator, at its workshop in Linz.

THAILAND’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has released a 20-year masterplan for rail development worth more than Baht 2.7 trillion ($US 81.57bn).

COSTA Rica’s national railway Incofer has announced it plans to order eight new passenger trains before the end the year.

ALSTOM confirmed on September 22 that it is in discussions with Siemens regarding a “possible combination” with Siemens Mobility.

LATVIAN national passenger operator Pasažieru Vilciens (PV) announced on September 21 that it has received technical bids from four manufacturers for a contract to supply 32 EMUs.

TRANSMASHHOLDING, Russia, announced on September 21 that it has signed a contract with Cuban import agency Tradex for 28 four-car DMUs for Cuban Union Railways (UFC).

THE Australian government is seeking high-quality proposals for the development of business cases to bring faster rail links between urban and regional areas.

SINGAPORE Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on September 21 that it has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, SG HSR, to implement the Singapore - Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail project.

SOUND Transit introduced a new fleet of nine Bombardier double-deck driving cars for its Sounder commuter rail network on September 21, when the first vehicle entered passenger service between Seattle and Tacoma.

CHINA Railway Corporation (CRC) launched commercial operations on a 224km high-speed line linking Wuhan in Hubei province with Jiuijang in neighbouring Jiangxi on September 21.