THE first e320 train arrived in Brussels on May 23 on a preview trip from London ahead of the entry of these trains on the London - Brussels route on May 28.

THE board of Phoenix Valley Metro Rail has approved two orders for a total of 17 LRVs, which are being procured as part of the expansion of the LRT network in the Arizonan state capital.

SOUND Transit, which serves the Seattle and Central Puget Sound area in Washington state, has placed an order with Siemens for 30 additional S70 type light rail vehicles (LRVs).

IRJ at UITP Global Summit 2017, Montreal: Following recent speculation that Bombardier and Siemens are in discussions to merge the two companies’ railway equipment manufacturing divisions, Bombardier Transportation CEO Mr Laurent Troger has told IRJ that he does not expect the structure of Bombardier Transportation to change.

SIEMENS announced plans on May 11 to cut nearly 1700 jobs in Germany during the next few years including 300 immediately at Siemens Mobility’s Krefeld train building plant, as part of the company’s efficiency and modernisation drive to turn Siemens into a “digital industrial” company.

CZECH Railways (ČD) has confirmed it will lease 10 multi-system Siemens Vectron locomotives to modernise motive power on Prague - Berlin - Hamburg services.

THE supervisory board of Czech rail freight operator ČD Cargo has approved the acquisition of three additional Vectron locomotives from Siemens at a cost of around Koruna 300m ($US 12.2m).

The replacement of life-expired trams on established light rail networks and continued investment in new lines helped to fuel a 43% increase in the sale of light rail vehicles last year, according to data from IRJ Pro. Jonny Dearden, market researcher for IRJ Pro, explores the factors driving growth and looks ahead to the prospects for 2017.

SIEMENS has announced that it will launch a new digital rail service in the United States, which will use sensors and software platforms to put intelligence behind billions of data points created on the country’s rail network.

SIEMENS confirmed on April 18 that the first SC-44 Charger diesel-electric passenger locomotives for California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will begin revenue testing on the Sacramento - Oakland - San Jose Capitol Corridor before the end of the month.