GREECE'S Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) announced on October 31 that three bids for the sale of national train operating company Trainose have qualified for the final stage of the privatisation process.

VIRGIN Trains has awarded Alstom a contract worth around €12m to upgrade its entire fleet of 56 class 390 Pendolino tilting emus, which are used on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, Manchester, and Glasgow.

PASSENGER Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has signed a Rand 51bn ($US 5bn) contract with the Gibela joint venture led by Alstom to supply 3600 cars to be formed into 600 emus during a 10-year period, plus spare parts for 18 years. Financial closure of the contract is expected in December.

ISRAEL Railways has placed a Shekels 1.5bn ($US 421.7m) contract with Alstom to maintain its fleet of IC3 dmus for seven years, with an option for an eight-year extension.

THE first of 70 Coradia Meridian emus for Trenitalia is nearing completion at Alstom's Savigliano plant in northern Italy and is due to be handed over to Trenitalia by the end of October.

THE CEO of Italian State Railways (FS) Mr Mauro Moretti officiated at a ceremony at Milan Central station yesterday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Pendolino tilting trains in Italy.

Railway Interchange 2013: LILEE Systems, United States, showed two new Positive Train Control (PTC) solutions developed in separate partnerships with Alstom and Cisco at this week's Railway Interchange exhibition in Indianapolis, Indiana.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has ordered 34 Coradia Liner trains from Alstom in a contract worth around €350m.

CONSTRUCTION of Line 1 of the Panama metro is now 92% complete and test running is underway.

BRITAIN's infrastructure manager, Network Rail, has awarded a £140m contract to Signalling Solutions Ltd, a joint venture of Alstom and Balfour Beatty Rail, to resignal part of the Great Western Main Line.