THE first of 20 three-car Inspiro trains for the initial phase of Sofia metro Line 3 was unveiled at the Newag plant in Nowy Sacz, Poland, on November 15.

THE Mayor of San Francisco Mr Ed Lee and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) director of transportation Mr Ed Reiskin officially launched the city’s new fleet of Siemens S200 SF LRVs on November 17, when the first vehicle entered passenger service on the Muni light rail network.

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) issued invitations to negotiate to four prequalified bidders on November 17 for a contract to supply 43 driverless metro trains for the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

THE CAS IV Etele consortium of Colas and Siemens started construction of the southern extension of Budapest tram line 1 on November 13.

BALLARD Power Systems announced on November 13 that it has signed an agreement with Siemens to develop a fuel cell propulsion system for Siemens’ Mireo multiple unit.

GERMAN open-access operator Autozug Sylt, which operates car-carrying trains between Niebüll and Westerland (Sylt) in competition with DB, has purchased two new Vectron DE diesel-electric locomotives from Siemens.

SIEMENS announced on November 10 that it has secured a €56m contract to refurbish the fleet of Desiro EMUs used by British train operator South Western Railway (SWR).

CALIFORNIA Department of Transportation confirmed on November 8 that Sumitomo Corporation of America will now work with Siemens instead of Nippon Sharyo to deliver a $US 371m order for 137 coaches for California and Illinois.

BRITAIN’s HS2 Ltd has shortlisted five train builders to bid for a contract worth around £2.75bn to design, build and maintain at least 54 360km/h trains for entry into service in 2026 on the London - Birmingham first phase of the planned high-speed network which will eventually extend to Manchester and Leeds.

SINGAPORE celebrated the opening of the third phase of the city state’s underground Downtown Line on October 21 with passengers enjoying two days of free rides on the now 42km metro route.