A ceremony was held at Nagad station in Djibouti on January 10 to mark the official opening of the new $US 4.2bn 752km electrified standard-gauge railway to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

BRITISH infrastructure manager Network Rail announced on January 12 that it has awarded Carillion Powerlines a £49m contract to electrify the Shotts line between Holytown Junction, east of Glasgow, and Midcalder Junction, west of Edinburgh.

ITALIAN State Railway (FS) has brought all of its freight activities under one roof with the creation this month of Mercitalia which includes the former Trenitalia Cargo division as well as logistics and terminals.

BOMBARDIER announced on January 12 that it has delivered its first Innovia automated people mover (APM) 300 vehicle to China, and will be used on a shuttle service to Shanghai Metro Line 8.

ELBIT Systems, alongside its French partner Corys, announced on January 12 that it has won a tender to build simulators to train Israel Railways’ (IR) drivers.

PRIVATELY-FUNDED passenger rail company Brightline showcased its first completed train for its new Florida intercity service on January 11, and it will begin testing on a 16km section in West Palm Beach, Florida, later this month.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has selected a consortium of Alstom-Bombardier to renew trains on lines D and E of the Paris RER network.

THE Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) says the European Commission (EC) is putting rail freight, which is subject to customs clearance at European Union borders, at risk by imposing a system developed for road transport which is inappropriate for rail.

THE New South Wales (NSW) state government has announced that following the granting of final planning approvals, construction will begin this year on stage 2 of the Sydney Metro project from Chatswood through the Sydney central business district to Sydenham and on to Bankstown.

SIEMENS announced on January 4 that it will provide traction power supply equipment for the first 9km section of metro Line 1 in Lima.