n Look for Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano and his Malawi counterpart Bakili Muluzi to launch officially the Nacala Corridor this month, to encourage development along the Blantyre - Nacala line now operated by concessionaire Central East African Railway.
n Vietnam Railways has launched a five-year investment plan valued at 5700bn dong; this includes upgrading of infrastructure, removing illegal obstructions from the railway alignments, and renewing the locomotive and rolling stock fleet.
n New South Wales Premier Bob Carr offered assistance worth up to A$600m for the Sydney - Canberra VFT high speed line project in mid-July. Although he would not commit any state funding, he suggested that state-owned electricity supplier Transgrid could fund the electrification of the line and recover its investment over 20 to 30 years.
n French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot has approved a more southerly alignment for the planned TGV Ouest between Le Mans and Laval, reducing the length of the spur to Sablé-sur-Sarthe to be used by Nantes services (map RG 6.00 p374).
n Italy’s Nord Milano Railway has been granted a licence to run freight trains between Milano and Basel from January 1 2001, in competition with the SBB-FS joint venture Cargo SI.
n Spanish Development Minister Francisco Álvarez Cascos announced in early August that the national network would be opened up to independent operators from 2004. He plans to retain state control of the infrastructure, but to liberalise operations.
n Syrian Railways Operations Director Mohammad Ayad Ghazal has proposed the introduction of Damascus - Tehran passenger services during discussions with RAI in July.
n The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board and the Federal Transit Administration are to prepare an environmental assessment of electrifying Caltrain’s 80 km San Jose - San Francisco route at 25 kV 60Hz AC. Rolling stock options comprise one-for-one replacement of diesel locos or a new EMU fleet.
n Mexican President-elect Vincente Fox has backed plans for a 146 km electric network between León, Celaya, Guanajuato and Irapuato, to be financed by Siemens and Canadian investment groups, with rolling stock from Bombardier. He hopes work can start on the US$1·2bn scheme in December (RG 1.95 p7).
n Expect the city of Budapest to call tenders for preparatory works on the 7·3 km metro Line 4, following an announcement by Mayor Gabor Demzsky on June 30 that funding was in place for services diversion to start in April or May 2001.
n Look for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to call tenders for 295 new cars to operate its PATH cross-Hudson rail services from 2003, following an FRA ruling that they can be built to metro rather than commuter rail crashworthiness standards.
