INDIA's prime minister, Mr Narendra Modi, officially opened a 14km extension to the north-south Violet Line (Line 6) of Delhi metro on September 6. 

ALSTOM and GE Transportation have emerged as lowest-price bidders for contracts with a combined value of around Rs 23bn ($US 348m) to establish two new locomotive assembly plants in the Indian state of Bihar.

INDIAN Railways (IR) has received bids from seven parties for a contract worth Rs 25bn ($US 379m) to supply 315 main line EMUs divided into 20 trains of 16 and 20-car sets, which will deployed on IR's existing broad-gauge Rajdhani and Shatabdi express services.

DEDICATED Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFFCIL) has awarded two civil works contracts worth Rs 43.3bn ($US 660m) for sections of the second phase of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) between Delhi and Mumbai to the Express Freight Consortium, which is led by Mitsui & Co, Japan.

BANGLADESH Railway (BR) has awarded a Rs 200m ($US 3m) contract to Barsyl, India, to conduct detailed design and construction supervision for the rehabilitation of the Kulaura - Shahbazpur line.

THE Indian government has allocated Rs 9.8bn ($US 153m) towards the construction of a 15.1km rail link from Agartala in the eastern state of Tripura to Akhaura in Bangladesh.

DEDICATED Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DCCIL) has awarded Alstom a Rs 15bn ($US 234.4m) systems contract for the 342km section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) from Bhaupur to Khurja. The contract encompasses design and construction of electrification, signalling, telecommunications, buildings and other associated works.

THE Japanese government has offered to fund the construction of India's first high-speed line linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad provided 30% of the rolling stock is supplied by Japanese companies.

CHENNAI became the seventh Indian city to launch a metro network on June 29, when the chief minister of Tamil Nadu Dr Selvi Jayalalithaa inaugurated the 9km elevated section of Line 2 from Koyambedu to Alandur.