The construction of a circular light rail line in Kaohsiung will bring more residents and businesses in Taiwan's second city within easy reach of the rail network, as James Chuang explains.

MITSUBISHI Electric Corporation announced on May 27 that it has been awarded a contract by CAF, Spain to supply traction equipment for the fleet of 118 New Generation Sprinter (SNG) EMUs ordered by Netherlands Railways (NS) last December.

ITALY's National Railway Safety Agency (ANSF) says it will issue an Authorisation to Place into Service (APS) on May 29 for the ETR 563/564 Civity EMUs supplied by CAF for the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, enabling the first trains to enter service within the next few weeks.

HOUSTON's Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Metro) celebrated the opening of two new light rail lines over the weekend of May 23.

THE board of Luxtram, the public company responsible for developing the first modern light rail line in Luxembourg, confirmed on May 18 that it has selected CAF as preferred bidder for a contract to supply 21 low-floor LRVs for the project in a deal worth €83m.

CAF reported an 18.4% fall in net turnover to €306.6m in the first quarter of 2015 following a decline in industrial activity due to "scheduling reasons."

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has finalised a €280m contract with Stadler for the supply of 58 160km/h Flirt EMUs.

CAF and Saudi Railway Company (SAR) will soon start testing the next generation of push-pull trains for Saudi Arabia's North-South line.

OSLO airport express operator Flytoget has awarded CAF a NKr 1.3bn ($US 160m) contract to supply eight four-car Oaris EMUs for services from Gardemoen Airport to Oslo Central and Drammen.

THE first of 37 Urbos low-floor LRVs being supplied by CAF for the tram network in Budapest arrived in the Hungarian capital in the early hours of March 11.