A BILATERAL agreement was signed in Buenos Aires on October 15 that will pave the way for the restoration of freight services across the border between Chile and Argentina.

TRENSURB, the metro operator in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, issued tender documents on October 8 for a contract to supply 15 four-car emus which will supplement its existing train fleet.

FULL commercial services began today on the first light rail line in the Argentinean city of Mendoza. The Green Line runs for 12.5km along the alignment of a former heavy-rail line between Mendoza Station and General Gutiérrez in the suburb of Maipú.

THE governor of the state of São Paulo Mr Geraldo Alckman has approved the launch of a Reais 153m ($US 75.4m) international tender for the design of the 47km express rail link between São Paulo and Jundiaí.

METRO de Madrid has handed over the completed technical studies for the first metro line in the Ecuadorian capital Quito.

THE city of Foz do Iguaçu in the Brazilian state of Paraná will present a plan for a 40km light rail line to the Federal government's Cities Ministry today. The estimated Reais 200m ($US 99.5m) project is designed to be included in the urban mobility projects sector of Brazil's growth acceleration plan (PAC) for medium-sized cities with populations of 250,000-700,000 people.

BRAZILIAN mining giant Vale has announced on August 23 that it has concluded a Reais 3.9bn ($US 1.92bn) financing deal with Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES) to fund its Logistics Capacity North (CLN) 150 enhancement project, which will boost iron ore throughput by 30.4% on the Carajás Railway (EFC) and at the port of Ponta da Madeira.

THE government of São Paulo state has issued six tenders worth a total of Reais 22.8m ($US 11.3m) for feasibility studies into the construction of five new metro lines in the north of São Paulo city. The projects would add a total of 101.8km to the network, and would be implemented between 2016 and 2030.

BRAZIL's state-owned railway engineering and construction company Valec has revealed further details of the government's plans to allow open-access freight operations on certain parts of the network.

THE governor of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, Mr. Geraldo Alckmin, has authorised the launch of a tender for the acquisition of 65 eight-car emus for São Paulo commuter rail operator Paulista Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM).