HONOLULU Authority for Rapid Transportation (Hart) has awarded the $US 1.33bn core systems contract for the city's first driverless metro line to Ansaldo Honolulu Joint Venture, a consortium of Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda.

VTG Rail, a subsidiary of VTG, Germany, has acquired SC Leasing, United States, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation of America, and its 2000 freight wagons, doubling VTG Rail's North American customer base.

Work is underway on Bay Area Rapid Transit's (Bart) largest expansion since the metro network opened in 1972. Kevin Smith examines the projects and their impact on public transport in the second most densely populated region in the United States.

CHICAGO Transit Authority has received a $US 646m grant from the Illinois state government to rebuild the metro Red Line and improve the Purple Line.