THE BOARD of New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) has approved a capital budget of $US 1.2bn for its 2015 financial year, which started on July 1.

SAN FRANCISCO Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) has recommended awarding a contract worth up to $US 1.2bn to Siemens for up to 260 S200 SF LRVs, which will replace the city's ageing Breda trams and expand the fleet for the opening of the Central Subway line.

ALL Aboard Florida, the inter-city passenger subsidiary of Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) has announced details of its first services, which will link Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach from late 2016.

LOS ANGELES County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has signed a $US 918m design-build contract with a joint venture of Skanska and Traylor Brothers for the 3km Regional Connector light rail link in Los Angeles city centre.

AMTRAK has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for 28 high-speed trains, which will replace the Acela Express fleet on the Washington DC – New York – Boston Northeast Corridor (NEC).

KEOLIS Commuter Services took over operation of the 610km commuter rail network around Boston on July 1 under a $US 2.68bn eight-year contract awarded by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in January.

INDIANA Department of Transportation (IDOT) has selected Chicago-based Corridor Capital LLC as its "preferred vendor" to manage and operate the daily Hoosier State inter-city service between Indianapolis and Chicago, which is currently operated by Amtrak.

PLANS by Amtrak and California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to purchase a fleet of high-speed trains jointly have been scrapped as the two parties have acknowledged that the specifications differ too greatly.

THE board of Alstom has unanimously approved General Electric's (GE) bid for its energy division after the French government agreed to purchase a 20% stake in the company from its lead shareholder, Bouygues, for around €1.7bn.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Union Station in St Paul, Minnesota, on June 14 to mark the official opening of the Metro Transit light rail Green Line, which links St Paul with the neighbouring city of Minneapolis.