GREATER Wellington Regional Council has finalised the short-list for its new suburban railway contract, which covers operations on the three primary north-south corridors into the city centre, and is based on a new performance-based partnering contract model.

THE provincial council of the Italian autonomous region of South Tyrol on December 16 approved the electrification of the Merano - Malles line, entrusting planning and project management to Strutture Trasporto Alto Adige and Alto Adige Finance under a €56m contract.

A report by Britain's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has criticised the Department for Transport's (DfT) handling of two major rolling stock procurement projects, arguing that the government has taken on a disproportionate share of the risk because of the DfT's failure to fully investigate other methods of financing new trains.

DEDICATED Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) finance director Mr M K Mittal and World Bank country director for India Mr Onno Ruhl signed a $US 1.1bn loan agreement in Delhi on December 11, which will finance the 393km second phase of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) between Bhaupur and Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh.

FINMECCANICA CEO Mr Mauro Moretti has invited bidders to submit binding offers within the next few days for the acquisition of AnsaldoBreda and its 40% stake in Ansaldo STS, according to reports in the Italian financial press.

TANZANIA Railway's (TRL) deputy managing director and chief finance officer have been suspended by the country's transport minister Mr Harrison Mwakyembe as investigations into the controversial acquisition of 25 wagons from Indian firm Hindustan Engineering and Industries gets underway.

AUCKLAND Council's Governing Body has voted to defer the start of work on the $NZ 2.4bn ($US 1.89bn) City Rail Link (CRL), a 3.5km underground extension of the existing suburban line beneath the city centre until 2018-19, two years later than previously planned.

A parliamentary select committee in Uganda has launched a probe into the award of an $US 8bn contract for the 250km single-track Kampala - Malaba standard-gauge railway to China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

THE Federal Transit Administration has pledged about $US 996m through a New Start Engineering programme grant to support a 7.6km extension of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Green Line from Cambridge to Somerville and Medford.

THE Supervisory Board of Vossloh has announced a new strategy for the company which involves focussing on its track products and activities and divesting its locomotive and LRV business by 2017.