THE government of the Australian state of New South Wales has committed $A 9bn ($US 8.35bn) to current and future heavy and light rail projects in its 2014-15 budget, including more than $A 1.5bn this year.

THE New South Wales (NSW) state government has announced that Australia's largest city Sydney will see the expansion of the planned 'metro' concept to include the city centre and western suburbs to cope with demand for rail services which is forecast to increase by 50% or more over the next 20 years.

THE government of the Australian state of Queensland has announced plans to privatise the 1000km, 1067mm-gauge Townsville – Mount Isa line in Central Queensland as part of its 2014-15 budget strategy.

CANBERRA's proposed 12.5km inaugural light rail line received a $A 21.3m ($US 19.8m) boost in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) budget which was announced on June 3, in an allocation the government says is designed to make the proposed public-private partnership project "investment ready."

THE preferred route option for the first light rail line in the Australian city of Newcastle was announced on May 23 by Mrs Pru Goward, New South Wales state minister for planning, and transport minister Mrs Gladys Berejiklian.

THE government of the Australian state of New South Wales has announced that it will allocate $A 2.8bn ($US 2.6bn) in funding for around 65 new EMUs, totalling about 520 vehicles, which will be used on outer-suburban services from Sydney to the Central Coast, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains, and Illawarra.

THE AUSTRALIAN state of Victoria has allocated more than $A 24bn ($US 22.4bn) for investment in infrastructure, including up to $A 14.5bn for major rail projects, as part of its budget for the 2014-15 financial year which was announced this week.

RIO Tinto is to start tests of driverless heavy-haul iron ore trains on the Tom Price railway in the Pilbara region of Western Australia this month as it moves towards completion of its AutoHaul automation project.

THE government of the Australian state of Victoria has committed to the construction of a heavy rail link connecting central Melbourne with the city's airport, 23km to the north at Tullamarine, although it has not indicated how much it will cost or when it will open.

TASRAIL, the operator of the 1067mm-gauge freight network in the Australian state of Tasmania, held a ceremony at its Brighton Transport Hub on March 31 to mark the delivery of the last of 209 new wagons from CNR Shenyang Locomotive and Rolling Stock, China.