France: Sitram has awarded Colas Rail a €4·1m contract for tram track works in Mulhouse.
Germany: Stadwerke Augsburg has awarded Klaus Hoch- & Tiefbau a €3·7m contract for the construction of 1·5 km of tram track from Theodor-Wiedemann-Straße to Damaschkeplatz.
Greece: Michaniki subsidiary Tholos has been awarded a €11·9m contract for Phase 2 construction works on the Polykastro - Idomeni upgrading project in northern Greece. Work on the 9·7 km route is to be completed within 18 months.
Hungary: A consortium of OHL ZS and Középszolg has won a €100·1m contract to upgrade the 20·6 km Mezötúr - Gyoma section of the route from Budapest to Arad in Romania for 160 km/h running by December 2009.
OHL ZS expects to complete shortly a €34m contract to modernise the station at Cegléd (RG 2.06 p72).
Libya: During an official visit by President Putin, on April 17 Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin signed a US$4·5bn contract for RZD subsidiary Zarubezhstroy to construct 554 km of new railway between Surt and Banghazi as part of the future coastal link between Egypt and Tunisia. The work will take four years and be undertaken in conjunction with local firms.
Serbia: On March 24 Serbian Railways awarded Energoprojekt a contract for the construction of a new Beograd Central station in Prokop. TriGranit had previously been selected to undertake the work, but terms could not be agreed. The €230m project, which includes commercial developments, will free the 86 ha site of the current main station for redevelopment.
Slovenia: SZ has sold most of its 20% stake in the €220m Emonika project to redevelop Ljubljana's main station to its Hungarian partner TriGranit. The railway retains a 3% stake in the commercial and residential development scheme.
Spain: ADIF has awarded Tecsa a €612 700 contract to upgrade the 1 km La Cartuja branch in Sevilla for regular commuter services. This includes modifying the station originally built to serve the Expo '92 site.
The Ministry of Development has been given approval to call tenders for civil works on the 13·3 km Grijota - Becerril de Campos section of the high speed line between Palencia and León. Work is expected to take 34 months to complete within a budget of €34·6m.
FGV has completed a €3·7m extension programme at Naranjos depot serving lines 4, 5 and 6 of the Valencia network. Six new tracks have been installed to provide capacity for up to 44 LRVs.
Sweden: On April 21 tunnel boring machine Katrin broke through a concrete wall at Malmö C to complete boring of the 4·6 km Citytunnel from Holma. The 17 km link between the city's main station and the Øresund bridge is expected to be completed in 2011.
UK: NR has named preferred contractors for works in London under the Thameslink programme (RG 3.08 p172). Balfour Beatty will be responsible for £15m of advance works at Blackfriars station, Skanska will carry out £1·7m of preliminary works near London Bridge, and a joint venture of Costain and Laing O'Rourke has a £10·3m contract at Farringdon.
USA: On April 17 New Jersey Transit awarded George Harris Construction a $58·4m contract for a 1·6 km extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line south from 22nd Street to 8th Street in Bayonne by June 2010.
