FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has awarded Thales a four-year contract to maintain ticket validation equipment on the Transilien suburban network in Paris and surrounding departments.
ABELLIO Rail NRW, the Abellio subsidiary operating in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia, has invited bids for a contract to supply between 18 and 42 dmus for regional services.
GERMAN Rail (DB) carried a record number of passengers on its domestic services in Germany last year, with ridership reaching 49 million and the total distance travelled increasing by 4% to 82.4 billion passenger-km.
GO-Ahead has awarded Knorr-Bremse two contracts to deliver its Leader driver assistance system on dmus operated by its Southern and London Midland franchises in Britain.
EAST Japan Railway Company (JR East) began scheduled operations at 320km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen with the timetable change on March 16.
SÃO PAULO suburban rail operator Paulista Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM) is to launch an international tender for 65 eight-car emus, after a domestic contest intended to support local suppliers failed to attract sufficient interest.
RUSSIA's Finance Ministry has announced proposals to cut subsidies for long-distance train services and divert the funding to investment in aviation.
CAF is celebrating the first order for its Urbos 3 low-floor LRV from a German customer after signing a contract with Freiburg Transport (VAG) for 12 metre-gauge vehicles, which will support the expansion of the city's light rail network.
BRAZIL's Logistics and Planning Company (EPL) has announced it will issue tender documents in May for the contract to build the Central-West Integration Railway (Fico).
THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have agreed to provide a $US 260m loan to support the construction of Ho Chi Minh City metro Line 5.