SPAIN's high-speed network infrastructure manager, Adif AV, has awarded a €29.6m contract to a consortium of Thales and Bombardier to install ETCS Level 1 on the 210km Valencia - Vandellós section of the Valencia - Barcelona Mediterranean Corridor.

Oman Rail is set to make huge strides on its inaugural railway project in 2015 as its first civil works contracts are awarded and construction gets underway. Kevin Smith reports from Muscat on progress so far.

At the start of this year new 10-year concessions came into effect for infrastructure management and operation of passenger services on most of the Dutch railway network. Quintus Vosman considers whether lessons have been learned from the previous concession, and how the new agreements will shape the operation of the network over the next decade.

BELGIUM's Mobility and Transport Federal Public Services (FPS) has awarded Mott MacDonald a contract to independently review the €2bn national rollout of ETCS currently being implemented by infrastructure manager Infrabel.

THE installation of ERTMS on the Betuweroute dedicated freight line between the port of Rotterdam and the German border was finally completed on December 8, when the section between Zevenaar, Netherlands, and Emmerich, Germany, switched to ETCS from the legacy Dutch ATB train protection system.

SIEMENS has rolled out the first Desiro ML train for Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) which has branded the EMU fleet Cityjet.

BELGIUM's infrastructure manager Infrabel has awarded a joint venture of Siemens and Cofely Fabricom, Belgium, a €510m contract to rollout ETCS Level 2 on 36% of the Belgian network.

In preparation for the start of test operations of the complete tunnel system in autumn 2015, over 650 test runs were carried out on a 13km section of the Gotthard base tunnel in a six-month pilot scheme which ended in June. Anitra Green reports from Switzerland on progress to date.

YAPI Merkezi, Turkey, which is constructing a $US 1.7bn railway in Ethiopia, has awarded Bombardier a €36m contract to install ERTMS.

BELGIAN National Railways (SNCB) has awarded Alstom a contract worth around €70m to supply and maintain ETCS Level 2 onboard equipment for five fleets of multiple units totalling 449 trains.