ITALIAN State Railways (FS) subsidiary Trenitalia has invited tenders for a fleet of 50 high-speed trains in a deal that will be worth around Euros 1.2 billion. Bids will be submitted within three months for the fleet of trains, which must be equipped for operation outside Italy.

MOROCCO'S Casa Transport has signed an initial Euro 120 million contract with Alstom for the delivery and maintenance of 74 Citadis LRVs for Casablanca's new light rail network.

WITH just a year left until opening, a new railway tunnel under the Swedish city of Malmö will be completed 9.4% under budget, according to project manager Mr Örjan Larsson. A new calculation for the remaining work has shown that the project will cost SKr 8.57 billion ($US 1.2 billion) at 2001 prices, 9.4% less that the SKr 9.45 billion originally budgeted.

FINLAND'S railway infrastructure manager Finnish Rail Administration (RHK) is to merge with the country's road, and maritime agencies on January 1 in a move that aims both to reduce costs and achieve greater integration between the different modes.

PERTH'S popular suburban rail network is set to grow further after the government of Western Australia approved plans for a 7.5km extension of the Joondalup Line from its existing northern terminus at Clarkson to a new park-and-ride station in Butler. Transport Minister Mr Simon O'Brien says preliminary works have already begun on the $A 240 million ($US 218 million) project, which is due for completion in 2014.

Last month one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs made his biggest ever acquisition by purchasing all remaining shares in North America’s second-largest railway. Keith Barrow looks at how Warren Buffett’s high-stakes wager on BNSF has sent ripples through Wall Street.

 

GERMAN RAIL (DB) is celebrating its first contract to operate a regional rail network outside Germany after subsidiary DB Regio Sweden clinched a 10-year concession in the Östergötland province.

THE first two contracts for India's two new dedicated freight corridors have been awarded, Mr K H Muniyappa, minister of state at the Ministry of Railways confirmed in a written address to the Indian parliament. The contracts are for the 105km Sonnagar - Mughalsarai section of the eastern corridor and 54 bridges on the Surat - Virar section of the western corridor.

GERMAN Rail (DB) has secured an exclusive deal with the recently-formed state-owned Qatar Railways Company that will push forward plans for a Euros 17 billion project to build a metro and railway in Qatar.