AFTER 13 years of delay, Metrofor launched limited trial services on the first section of Fortaleza's Metro South Line on June 15.
PROGRESS Rail subsidiary EMD began locomotive assembly in Brazil at the end of May with the launch of production at its plant in Sete Lagoas in the state of Minas Gerais.
LATIN American Logistics (ALL) officially opened its new 120km line from Alto Araguaia to Itiquira, in Brazil's Mato Grosso state on June 2. The railway will carry large volumes of grain, and agribusiness Seara inaugurated its new grain terminal at Itiquira on the same day.
STADLER and MRS Logistics, Brazil, have unveiled what they say is the largest rack and pinion locomotive ever to be built.
REHABILITATION of the Arica to La Paz Railway (FCALP), which ceased operation in 2005 when the concessionaire filed for bankruptcy, is nearing completion and trains should start running again in August.
A CONSORTIUM of CR Almeida, Santa Bárbara Construções, CAF Brasil, MagnaEngenharia and Astep Engenharia had been selected as preferred bidder for the contract to build the first light rail line in the Brazilian city of Cuiaba.
URUGUAYAN State Railways (AFE) has announced that it will withdraw all passenger services this week, with the exception of two trains per day on the line from Montevideo 25 de Agosto (one of which runs only as far as Progreso).
ARGENTINE President Mrs Cristina Kirchner has signed a decree rescinding the concession held by Buenos Aires Trains (TBA) to operate services on the Sarmiento and Mitre suburban networks in Buenos Aires.
BRAZIL's 11 railfreight concessionaires achieved a 1% increase in traffic to 475 million tonnes last year, but this was well below their forecast of 530 million tonnes, according to figures released by Brazil's National Association of Rail Transport (ANTF).
METRO Madrid has completed initial engineering studies for the first metro line in the Ecuadorian capital Quito, which according to the municipal government puts the project on course for construction to start next year.
