CALIFORNIA High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has signed a $US 985.1m design-build contract with a California-based joint venture of Tutor Perini, Zachry Construction and Parsons for civil works on the first section of the state's high-speed network.

NEW JERSEY Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) has unveiled a prototype light rail vehicle which it says will offer 50% more seating capacity on its Hudson – Bergen line at minimal cost.

THE United States Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for 35 200km/h diesel-electric locomotives for use on inter-city and commuter services in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Iowa, Washington, California, and Oregon.

UTAH Transit Authority (UTA) has announced it will launch commercial services on the new Draper Trax extension on August 18, adding 6.1km to Salt Lake City's light rail network.

MONTREAL, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MM&A), the operator of the train involved in last month's derailment and explosion at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, which killed 47 people, announced on August 7 that it has filed for bankruptcy in Canada and the United States.

THE first of two 13-car Talgo trains acquired by the state of Oregon with the aid of stimulus funds from the United States government entered service on July 26.

AMTRAK President Mr Joe Boardman, Federal Railroad Administrator Mr Joseph Szabo and Siemens Rail Systems USA president Mr Michael Cahill visited the Transportation Technology Center (TTCI) at Pueblo on July 29 to see the ACS-64 Cities Sprinter electric locomotive being put through its paces.

OKLAHOMA Department of Transportation and the United States Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have launched the Tulsa-Oklahoma City Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan to evaluate the feasibility of launching passenger services between the state's two largest cities.

UNITED States Federal Transit Administrator Mr Peter Rogoff and North Carolina governor Mr Patrick McCrory attended a groundbreaking ceremony in Charlotte on July 18 to mark the start of construction on the city's light rail Lynx Blue Line extension.

THE Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA) has released a business plan laying the groundwork for a regional passenger rail corridor linking Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago via Fort Wayne and Warsaw, Indiana.