KENYA's Ministry of Finance has announced it will release an initial $US 252.8m towards the construction of a double-track standard-gauge line from the port of Mombasa to the Kenya/Uganda border town of Malaba with a branch to Kisumu on Lake Victoria.

NORWEGIAN infrastructure manager Jernbaneverket says it has successfully trialled aluminium lineside cabling on the Oslo – Ski – Halden Østfold line in an initiative which aims to tackle the problem of cable theft.

THE LAUNCH of construction on the extension of the Los Angeles Metrolink commuter rail network to Moreno Valley and Perris has moved a step closer after a local environmental group dropped its lawsuit against the $US 232.7m project.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) says a detached switch fishplate is likely to be cause of the derailment of an inter-city train on July 12 at Brétigny-sur-Orge south of Paris in which six people died and 62 were injured.

DURING presentations held on July 12 in São Paulo and Sorocaba, technical staff of Paulista Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM) revealed details of the planned São Paulo – Sorocaba regional rail project.

ILE-DE-FRANCE Transport Authority (Stif) has approved a proposal by Paris Transport Authority (RATP) to automate Metro Line 4, following the successful introduction of driverless operation on Line 1 in December 2012.

FRENCH Prime Minister Mr Jean-Marc Ayrault announced on July 9 that French National Railways (SNCF) will replace its entire fleet of Intercity trains between 2015 and 2025 as the government seeks to shift the focus of rail investment away from high-speed and into the modernisation of the conventional network.

GERMAN Rail (DB) and Siemens launched a pilot project today for what they describe as the "signalbox of the future" using open-interface signalling architecture.

TURKISH State Railways (TCDD) has awarded a contract to Siemens for seven 300km/h trains for operation on its growing high-speed network.

BRAZIL's National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) has published the results of a public consultation on the planned 457km Açailândia – Maranhão – Barcarena – Pará line, which will be one of the first railways in the country to operate on an open-access basis.