A financing agreement for the electrification of the Paris Est - Troyes line was signed on September 13 by Mr Patrick Jeantet, president of French infrastructure manager SNCF Network, and representatives of the French government and regional and local councils.

BRITAIN’s Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has awarded Brecknell Willis, Britain, a £300,000 grant to fund the development of a closed-loop pantograph, which measures contact with overhead electrification and automatically adjusts its position to optimise current collection.

GREAT Western Railway (GWR) launched electric suburban services out of London Paddington on September 5, when the first two of 45 class 387 Electrostar EMUs began operating peak services to Hayes & Harlington.

CALTRAIN, which operates the San Francisco - San Jose commuter rail line in California, has awarded contracts to Stadler Rail for new trains and Balfour Beatty to electrify the 83.7km line.

GOLDSCHMIDT Thermit Group announced on August 9 that it has acquired Swedish road-rail vehicle company SRS Sjölanders for an undisclosed sum.

THE first trials with two Hitachi Rail Europe class 800 Intercity Express Programme (IEP) bi-mode trains under electric traction were conducted on Britain's Great Western Main Line on the night of July 16-17.

THE board of Californian commuter rail operator Caltrain has approved contracts with a total value of $US 1.25bn for the electrification of the San Francisco - San Jose line, together with a new fleet of electric trains for the 82km route.

POWERLINES Group, Austria, has been awarded a contract by CCE Elektrik, Turkey, to supply overhead catenary components for electrification of new light rail lines in the Turkish cities of Izmir and Izmit.

THE Hungarian government finalised the 2016 budget on May 23 for the Integrated Programme for Transport (IKOP), which is 85% financed by the EU, and allocates a total of Forints 1216bn ($US 4.3bn) to transport projects including Forints 790bn for mainline and urban rail projects.

BELARUSIA Railway (BC) has completed electrification of the final section of the Minsk - Gomel line between Zhlobin - Gomel, close to the borders with Ukraine and Russia.