MUMBAI Metro Line 1 – India's first metro rail project built under a PPP model – launched on June 8, with chief minister of Maharashtra Mr Prithviraj Chavan riding the first train on the elevated 11.4km route from Versova to Ghatkopar.

Budapest celebrated the opening of its fourth metro line on March 28, a piece of infrastructure that finally became reality after 42 years of delays and disappointment. IRJ's Hungarian correspondent Ferenc Joó looks at the project and the prospects for future metro expansion in the city.

VIENNESE public transport operator Wiener Linien has awarded Siemens a contract worth more than €40m to resignal the 17km U-Bahn Line 4 from Hütteldorf to Heiligenstadt.

TESTS of on-board functionality of ETCS Baseline 3, conducted on an operational line fitted with Baseline 2 ETCS in Switzerland during the second half of April, have successfully demonstrated the backward compatibility of the two versions of software, says Siemens.

SPEAKING at the 2014 Electrical Products Group conference in Florida on May 21, Mr Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE, said the acquisition of Alstom's power division is "a deal which we expect to close." He said GE is targeting closure in 2015.

CZECH Railways (ČD) launched trial passenger operation of its new fleet of Siemens Railjet long-distance trains on May 6, when the first set entered service on the international Prague – Vienna – Graz route.

ALSTOM CEO Mr Patrick Kron has rejected suggestions from the French government that Alstom acquire General Electric's (GE) freight transport business in a renegotiation of GE's proposed €12.4bn takeover of Alstom's energy business approved unanimously by board members last week.

Since it opened a quarter of a century ago, London's north-south Thameslink line has become a key part of the city's transport infrastructure. As the city continues to grow rapidly, a £6.5bn upgrade is transforming Thameslink to offer metro frequencies through the core section and expand the network across southeast England, as Keith Barrow discovers.

ALSTOM has confirmed that it has received an offer from General Electric (GE) for its Energy division, which if approved would result in the French company focusing solely on its Transport business using the proceeds from the sale to strengthen this sector, pay down debt and return cash to shareholders.

SIEMENS has entered the race to acquire Alstom by issuing an offer to rival the $US 13bn bid made by General Electric (GE) for the French company's power turbines and grid equipment last week.