A direct metro link between Taipei city centre and Taoyuan International Airport was inaugurated on March 2 by Taiwan’s minister of transport Mr He Che Dan, the mayor of Taipei Mr Ke Wenzhe, and the mayor of Taoyuan Mr Zheng Wencan.

ITALIAN State Railways’ (FS) engineering subsidiary Italferr has awarded a €397m contract to a consortium comprising Salini Impregilo (60%) and Astaldi (40%) for the design and construction of the Naples - Cancello section of the Naples - Bari line in Italy, which will have a maximum speed of 200km/h..

THE government of the Australian state of Victoria has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a $A 518m ($US 395m) project to increase track capacity on the regional rail line serving Ballarat and Melbourne.

FORT Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA) has awarded a $US 97m signalling and communication services contract to Wabtec for the new Tex Rail commuter line in Texas.

NORTHERN Ireland’s main public transport operator Translink has awarded Nomad Digital a contract to upgrade passenger Wi-Fi on its train fleet as part of a five-year deal which also includes the company’s buses.

CHINA Railway Corporation (CRC) has awarded a contract for the supply of 18 eight-car CRH1 A-A new generation high-speed trains to Bombardier’s Chinese joint venture, Bombardier Sifang Transportation (BST).

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) reported an increased turnover of €5.1bn (2.4%) in its annual report for 2016 which was released on February 28.

A project to introduce a new common design of train on the Tokyo metro and Tobu Railway reached a milestone at the end of February when Tobu Railway received its first 70000 series EMU from Kinki Sharyo.

AUSTRALIA’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) will take over full jurisdiction for railway safety in Queensland on June 30 following the passing of legislation by the state government on February 28 for it to cede responsibility to ONRSR.

OMAHA City Council has received a final financial assessment of the proposed Omaha Urban Circulator, which is estimated to cost $US 156m and scheduled to open in 2022.