TOLL Group, Australia, announced on December 22 that it has divested its 55% share in the Toll Royal Railway concession to its joint venture partner, Royal Group, Cambodia.
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.
TRACK laying has started on Israel's 60km Valley Line linking Haifa with Sheikh Hussain bridge over the River Jordan where it will eventually be connected to the Jordanian rail network.
CONSTRUCTION of the 857km link from Guiyang to Guangzhou, the first high-speed line in China's southwest karst region, was completed on December 21, with test operations set to begin by the end of this week.
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.
FOLLOWING a successful return test journey from Hungary to Turkey, the Bombardier Traxx F140 ac Last Mile locomotive 187 009 passed climatic tests at Rail Tec Arsenal's wind tunnel in Vienna which were conducted over the last four weeks.
TRENITALIA has signed two contracts with AnsaldoBreda for rolling stock maintenance services.
THE new tram line connecting Berlin Main Station and Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station opened partially on December 14, although the eastern section to Nordbahnhof will not open before mid-2015.
CHINA Railway Corporation confirmed on December 19 that construction has begun on a 402km line linking Lhasa in Tibet with Nyingchi, close to the disputed Indian border region of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of Tibet.
JR East outlined its future procurement strategy at the EU-Japan 2nd Railway Industrial Dialogue earlier this month, pledging to strengthen links with European suppliers.