AMTRAK staged a ceremony at Philadelphia's 30th Street station on February 6 in the presence of US vice-president Mr Joe Biden and US transportation secretary Mr Anthony Foxx to mark the entry into service of the first of 70 locomotives being supplied by Siemens.

EUROPEAN railfreight reported negative results in terms of transport performance and profits in 2013 and with the weak economic situation continuing, performance remains someway off matching the pre-economic crisis high of 2007.

CONTRACTORS are preparing to start work on a $US 100m project funded by the Colombian government to rehabilitate two 914mm-gauge lines which are currently out of service with a view to starting freight operations by mid-2015.

TAIWAN's Bureau of High Speed Rail (BHSR) says construction of a southwest extension of the airport rail link between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA) and Zhongli station will commence this month, while testing is now underway on the primary Taipei Railway Station - TTIA section of the much-maligned 51km project.

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) and Britain's Department for Transport have announced that Bombardier will be awarded a £1bn contract to supply and maintain 65 trains for the new Crossrail network under construction in London, subject to a 10-day standstill period.

THE London – Penzance main line has been badly damaged by a severe storm which washed away the track along the coastal section of railway at Dawlish west of Exeter.

BNSF has announced a record $US 5bn capital expenditure programme for 2014, an increase of around $US 700m from its 2013 spend of approximately $US 4.3bn, which like 2012's $US 3.6bn investment, was also a record.

ROTTERDAM Electric Tram (RET) has exercised an option worth €66m with Bombardier for 16 Flexity Swift LRVs for operation on the Hook of Holland, which is being converted from heavy rail to light metro operation.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) may have to double funding for proposed improvements to the Trans-Siberian and Baikal – Amur railways to better serve the growing volumes of coal being transported from the Kuznetsk Basin, the biggest production site in Western Siberia, according to the Russian Institute of Economy and Transport Development.

ETIHAD Rail expects operations to begin on its inaugural UAE railway project, the 266km line from Shan and Habshan to Ruwais, by the end of the year with construction almost complete and testing now underway.