SPAIN's national operator Renfe will launch a tender in September for the supply of 40 high-speed trains under a €1.1bn framework contract to be awarded during 2016, according to its president Mr Pablo Vázquez.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has selected a consortium of Siemens Convergence Creators and Huawei to perform a migration of DB's first-generation GSM-R network in northern Germany.

SIEMENS and Sinara celebrated the fifth anniversary of their Ural Locomotives Russian joint venture on July 9 by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which will pave the way for the assembly of high-speed trains at its Verkhnaya Pyshma plant near Yekaterinburg.

ALL Aboard Florida, the inter-city passenger subsidiary of Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), has awarded Siemens a 30-year contract to maintain its train fleet.

STATE Railway of Thailand (SRT) has invited bids for a Baht 4.4bn ($US 131m) tender to supply a fleet of new trains for the airport rail link between Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport.

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) says it will award a £260m contract to Bombardier for 45 EMUs for the expanding London Overground rail network. Delivery of the trains will start in 2018.

Russian Railways (RZD) has awarded Siemens a 40-year maintenance contract for the Lastochka regional trains that Siemens started building in 2013. Negotiations began in 2011 when Siemens was originally commissioned to build the new trains, in an order reportedly worth €2bn.

SAN FRANCISCO Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) unveiled a full-size mock-up of its forthcoming S200 SF LRV on June 16 and confirmed that it has exercised an option with Siemens for 40 additional vehicles.

FOLLOWING a European tender, Rhine-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) announced on June 15 that it has selected National Express and Abellio for three contracts to operate the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) network for up to 15 years from its launch in December 2018.

FINLAND's VR Group announced at the end of May that Siemens has begun assembling the first class Sr3 Vectron electric locomotive at its Allach plant near Munich.