Africa: RITES has supplied four 2 300 hp metre-gauge locos built at DLW Varanasi to Senegal and Mali. DLW expects to produce 200 locos in 2008, with 54 for export.
Argentina: The federal government has launched tendering for a contract worth up to 7m pesos to restore the 284·8 km Puerto Deseado - Colonia Las Heras route (RG 10.07 p600) to operating condition for freight and passenger trains. Work is expected to take six months to complete.
YCRT has awarded Emepa and Ferromel a contract covering the supply of 100 wagons and two passenger cars for the Río Turbio - Río Gallegos route (RG 1.07 p11), as well as the repair of 190 wagons in the mining company's workshops which are to be upgraded.
Australia: In December Alstom was formally awarded a contract to supply a further 18 six-car X'trapolis EMUs, which will enter service on Melbourne suburban routes from late 2009. Thiess has won a contract to upgrade Cranbourne station and provide train stabling facilities.
Botswana: Zimbabwean engineering firm Gulliver Consolidated has been won a contract to refurbish 30 passenger coaches.
Canada: CN is to fit Wi-Tronix's Wi-Tracker remote fuel, engine and fault monitoring equipment to its EMD SD70M-2 and GE ES44DC locomotives.
Denmark: Strukton Rail has won a contract covering 45 km of track and 1·5 kV DC catenary renewal on København S-tog route A between Farum and Svanmøllen from May to November 2008.
Finland: Infrastructure manger RHK has awarded Thales a €12m contract for the supply and commissioning of eight LockTrac interlockings, axle-counters and LED signals for the 98 km Lahti - Luumäki route.
Germany: On December 20 Bombardier announced that DB had placed a €90m order for a further 64 double-deck coaches under a 2003 framework agreement covering up to 598 vehicles. They will be delivered from October 2008 to October 2009 for use on services in Schleswig-Holstein.
DB has ordered 19 Talent2 EMUs from Bombardier. Part of a framework contract agreed in 2007, the Class 442 units will be supplied in two-car and four-car versions for use on routes from Koblenz to Trier and from Cottbus to Leipzig and Falkenberg.
Ansaldo STS has been awarded a €20·5m contract by DB to supply and commission Etcs Level 1 and 2 signalling on the Saarbrücken - Mannheim section of the Paris - Frankfurt route.
India: The ASH joint venture responsible for the 3·9 km Contract C1 section of the Delhi Airport Metro Express (p69) has appointed Mott MacDonald to undertake structural and civil design. Hindustan Construction and Alpine Mayreder of Austria have won a Rs2·97bn contract for 2·6 km of NATM tunnelling between Talkatora Garden and Buddha Jayanti Park.
Stone India has won a second order to supply end-of-train telemetry devices to Konkan Railway. Train integrity monitoring equipment is also being supplied to IR.
Ireland: The Railway Safety Commission has awarded TÜV Rheinland a follow-on contract to provide technical consultancy services for the development of approval processes for new rolling stock.
Malaysia: In January Ircon was awarded a 3·5bn ringgit contract to undertake the double-tracking of the 100 km line between Seremban and Gemas.
Poland: PKP Cargo has awarded Newag a 250m zloty contract to upgrade 700 diesel locos in 2008-10, including around 590 Fablok SM42 shunting locos
Slovenia: SZ has ordered a further 12 Eurosprinter electric locos from Siemens at a cost of €48m, exercising an option on a 2004 contract for an initial 20. The SZ Class 541 three-voltage locos will be delivered from April 2009 and be equipped to work into Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Croatia.
Spain: FCC Construcción and Contratas y Ventas have been awarded a €108·2m to undertake civil works for a 17·5 km bypass to the east of Valladolid for freight traffic.
RENFE has awarded Tafesa a €26m contract to supply 188 wagons, comprising 78 for bulk cement and coal traffic, 60 tank wagons for biodiesel and other fuels and 50 flat wagons for steel products.
Sweden: On December 18 Green Cargo signed a firm order for six Bombardier Traxx F140AC2 electric locos with an option for a further 10. They will be delivered from April 2009 for use by Railion Scandinavia on the Sweden - Germany corridor.
Banverket has selected Alcatel-Lucent to deploy a national IP/MPLS communications network to carry signalling, passenger information and voice data traffic.
Switzerland: SBB has ordered 21 electric shunting locos from Stadler at a cost of SFr44·2m. Due for delivery from July 2009, the Ee922 locos will allow withdrawal of 46 shunters first manufactured in the 1930s.
UK: On January 21 Bombardier announced a €44m order from Angel Trains for 12 two-car Class 172 second-generation Turbostar DMUs. They will be delivered in 2009-10 for use by London Overground and Chiltern Railways.
Uzbekistan: UTY has awarded Russian firm Transpromresurs a US$54m two-year diesel locomotive upgrading contract.
