BELARUSIAN Railways (BC) electric locomotives have begun operating into Lithuania following the completion of electrification on the Maladzečna - Kena line, the final section of the Minsk - Vilnius route to be energised.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) has eliminated all but two of the companies bidding for a contract to supply a fleet of 60 double-deck EMUs totalling 330 cars leaving only Alstom and Siemens in the running.

WARSAW Tramways announced on August 11 that it has abandoned a tender for a contract to supply up to 213 LRVs because the offer submitted by the highest-scoring bidder exceeds the available budget.

HELSINKI City Transport (HKL) has published renderings of the initial conceptual design for the fleet of Artic XL low-floor LRVs for the Raide-Jokeri light rail line between Helsinki and the neighbouring city of Espoo.

THE introduction of Škoda trains on DB Regio Oberbayern’s Munich - Nuremberg Express high-speed regional services moved a step closer on January 21, when a class 102 locomotive began testing with a set of double-deck coaches at the VUZ Velim test track in the Czech Republic.

Helsinki City Transport (HKL) has exercised two options with Škoda Transportation’s Finnish subsidiary Transtech for a total of 49 additional Artic low-floor LRVs.

CRRC Corporation confirmed in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 28 that its CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive subsidiary has entered negotiations regarding the potential acquisition of a 100% stake in Škoda Transportation.

THE executive board of Helsinki City Transport (HKL) decided at a meeting on November 1 to exercise an option with Škoda Transportation’s Finnish subsidiary Transtech for 29 Artic low-floor LRVs for the Raide-Jokeri light rail line between Helsinki and the neighbouring city of Espoo.

GREEK privatisation agency the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) announced on October 17 that Italian State Railways (FS) and Škoda Transportation have submitted expressions of interest (EOI) for the sale of a 100% stake in Hellenic Company for Rolling Stock Maintenance (Rosco).