FRENCH secretary of state for transport Mr Alain Vidalies and Mr Xavier Bertand, president of the region of Hauts-de-France, announced on December 7 that control of two loss-making inter-city services will pass to the regional government in a deal which includes the renewal of rolling stock.

ALSTOM announced on December 7 that it will supply 20 extra six-car MP14 trains to Il-de-France Transport Authority (Stif) and Paris Transport Authority (RATP) for €163m, as part of the modernisation of Line 4 of the Paris metro.

ALSTOM announced on December 7 that the South African Gibela consortium, comprising Alstom (61%) Urumbano (30%) and New Africa Rail (9%), has successfully obtained a provisional acceptance certificate from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) for its first X’Trapolis Mega EMU.

ALSTOM has commenced delivery of 30 four-car class X61 Coradia Nordic EMUs ordered in February 2015 by Skånetrafiken for operation on the Pågatågen regional network in southwest Sweden.

FOLLOWING repeated faults with their wheels and doors, part of Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn's (MRB) Alstom Coradia Continental train fleet has been withdrawn from service as a precautionary measure.

GERMANY’s Federal Railway Authority (EBA) has granted Alstom approval for operational testing for its NBT ballastless slab track system, which is designed for use at speeds of up to 360km/h.

SPANISH national train operator Renfe opened economic bids for a contract to supply and maintain up to 30 high-speed trains at its headquarters in Madrid on November 22, with CAF and Talgo emerging as front runners for the contract.

ALSTOM has won a €31m contract to supply traction and train control monitoring systems (TCMS) for 156 metro cars for Shanghai Metro Line 10 phase 2, which is expected to open in 2018.

ABB announced on November 15 that it has won an order from Alstom to supply 1600 traction transformers for 800 double-unit prima electric new freight locomotives for India.