Track doubling of the 90km section between Lodhran and Khanewal has been completed at a cost of Rs 3.3bn ($US 36.3m).

THE Japan International Cooperation Agency has signed a Yen 18bn ($US 223m) loan agreement with the Uzbek government to fund the electrification of the 325km line from Karshi to Baysun and Termez in the south of the country.

Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the concessionaire which operates the Kenya-Uganda Railway, has received the first $US 49m tranche of a $US 168m loan secured from the International Finance Corporation last year. CEO

MRS Logistics will take delivery in August of the first of seven rack locomotives being built by Stadler in Switzerland under a Reais 120m ($US 7.6m) contract.

LOCOMOTIVE components and freight wagons are to be manufactured in India through a joint venture between UGL, Australia, and Texmaco Rail & Engineering using the latter's facility in Kolkata.

THE president-director of mining company PT Tambang Batu Bara Bukit Asam (PTBA) says he has been informed by the Indonesian government that the legal problems which have delayed construction of the 300km railway since 2005 will be settled this year.

PRESIDENT Cristina Fernández of Argentina has appointed Mr Alejandro Ramos as federal transport secretary to replace Mr Juan Pablo Schiavi who resigned following unpopular remarks about a fatal train accident on February 22 in which 50 people died and more than 700 were injured.

The service between the Buenos Aires suburb of Pilar and Paso de Los Toros in Uruguay has been cut back, less than six months after it was launched.

The Sube contactless smart card was due to be introduced last month on all commuter rail, metro and bus routes in the metropolitan area.