THE FIRST phase of Ireland's Western Rail Corridor will be completed next month with the launch of services between Limerick and Galway on March 30.

THALES has clinched a Euros 40 million contract to supply its SelTrac Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system for the second metro line in the Korean city of Incheon.

GREEN Cargo, Sweden, reported a loss of Euros 21.5 million in 2009 as the recession took its toll on the freight operator with overall volumes down by 24%. The company, however, says a streamlining process implemented in the second half of the year led to a considerable improvement in results enabling it to achieve a profit and good cash flow for the final six months of 2009. With these programmes set to continue, Green Cargo predicts that it will have reduced its costs by more than Euros 58 million by 2012.

THE Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has reappointed Mr Mauro Moretti, CEO of FS Group, as its chairman for the next two years following a unanimous vote by 73 CER delegates during a meeting held today in Brussels.

PAKISTAN Railways (PR) has awarded a Bombardier and China Railway Signal and Communication Corp (CRCS) consortium a Euros 41 million contract to supply Bombardier's Interflo 200 mainline signalling system on the 328km Bin Qasim to Mipur Mathelo double-track section of the Karachi - Lahore line.

KASSEL Transport Authority (KVG) has ordered 18-low floor Flexity Classic LRVs from a Bombardier-Vossloh Kiepe consortium for Euros 45 million. The contract, which includes an option for six additional vehicles, is worth approximately Euros 30 million to Bombardier.

THE Independent Rail Operators Federation (IROF), which acts on behalf of six private Polish freight operators, has filed a complaint to the European Commission against Polish authorities after the Polish government allegedly granted public aid to PKP Cargo, a freight subsidiary of Polish State Railways (PKP).

ANSALDO STS has won a Euros 180 million five-year contract from Metroselskabet to maintain and operate Copenhagen's driverless metro system. The latest contract, which includes an option for an additional three years, continues Ansaldo's 14-year partnership with Metroselskabet which began in 1996 when the company won a tender to provide engineering, systems integration, rail electrification equipment and vehicles for the metro, and continued when Ansaldo was selected to manage the network when it opened in October 2002.

STUTTGART Tramways has ordered 20 Tango high-floor LRVs from Stadler Pankow in a deal worth Euros 77 million. The 38.6m-long two-section vehicles have a maximum speed of 80km/h and a capacity for 252 passengers. The new vehicles will complement Stuttgart's existing fleet of 164 LRVs which operate on 192km of lines serving both the city centre and suburban communities.

THE President of the United States Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Biden have revealed details of the projects set to benefit from a $US 8 billion federal investment in intercity passenger rail, including the country's first true high-speed lines.

CANADIAN Pacific (CP) has posted an increase in full-year profits, despite the effects of the economic crisis which caused a substantial decline in revenues.