A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Paris on June 11 to mark the official start of construction on the 5.8km northern extension of Line 14 from St Lazare to Mairie de Saint Ouen.

THE BOARD of Ile-de-France Transport Authority (Stif) voted on June 5 to approve a €100m contribution towards a €256m project to automate Paris's second-busiest metro line.

THE municipal governments of Seine-Saint Denis and Val-de-Marne signed the declaration of public utility on February 17 for the 7.7km eastern extension of Paris light rail Line T1 to Val-de-Fontenay.

SEOUL Metropolitan Government and the SML9 consortium have awarded a consortium of Transdev and RATP Dev a 10-year contract to continue operating and maintaining Seoul metro Line 9.

THE extension of Paris tram-train Line T4 to Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil has moved a step closer after the €214m project was granted public utility status by Seine-Saint-Denis council.

PARIS Transport Authority (RATP) reported revenues of €2.62bn in the first six months of 2013, a 4.1% increase on the same period in 2012, while group net results rose by 27.5% to €190m, results described by chief executive Mr Pierre Mongin as "impressive."

ILE-DE-FRANCE Transport Authority (Stif) has approved a proposal by Paris Transport Authority (RATP) to automate Metro Line 4, following the successful introduction of driverless operation on Line 1 in December 2012.

THE first light rail line was officially opened on July 4 in Constantine, Algeria's third largest city with a population of around 900,000. Commercial services were due to begin on July 5.

A CONSORTIUM led by Brazilian companies CCR Group and Invepar has been selected as the preferred bidder for a PPP contract to design, build, operate, and maintain the 28km light rail network in Porto Maravilha, Rio de Janeiro.

A CONSORTIUM of RATP Dev and Transdev has secured a three-year contract to operate the 60km light rail network in the Chinese city of Shenyang, which is due to open on July 1.