Australia: On February 28 United Group confirmed it is to supply Pilbara Iron with 30 GE Transportation Evolution Series locos worth A$150m.
Canada: Faiveley Transport USA describes as its largest ever order a contract to supply doors for the 160 double-deck commuter coaches which have been ordered from Bombardier by Montréal's AMT (RG 2.08 p71).
China: On February 18 the Ministry of Railways awarded CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co a 6bn yuan contract to supply 400 HXD3 electric locos by the end of August 2009. It is the third contract for the 7·2 MW Co-Co freight locos, following orders in October 2004 and in December 2006.
Congo: On February 19 China Northern signed a contract to supply a fourth CK6E diesel loco. The 1 067 mm gauge Co-Co will be built at Beijing's February 7th works.
Ghana: Voith Turbo is to supply 17 motor and transmission units for eight trainsets which Chinese builder Tangshan Locomotive is building for a 25 km Accra - Tema commuter service.
Italy: In February Ferrovia Emilia Romagna awarded Bombardier a €36·7m contract for six electric locos, with an option for four more.
Lithuania: In February LG placed an order with Metrovagonmash for eight RA-2 DMU driving cars and two trailers. They will be fitted with passenger information screens and retention toilets.
Kazakhstan: On February 15 Russian manufacturer Vagonmash handed over to Kazpost the first four of seven mail vans equipped for onboard sorting.
Madagascar: China Northern is to supply 66 covered hoppers under the Chinese company's first African wagon contract for three years.
Poland: PKP Intercity has awarded H Cegielski's FPS plant a 100m zloty contract to supply six first and 11 second class 200 km/h coaches which will enter service in 2009. A plan to buy 10 sleeping and three dining cars was dropped on the grounds of price.
PKP's regional arm PKP PR has awarded ZNTK Minsk Mazowiecki a 29m zloty contract to modernise 51 EN57 EMUs and 11 EN71 and ED72 EMUs. PESA won a 16m zloty contract to modernise a further 30 EN57 EMUs
Russia: Sibur has completed the 3bn rouble purchase of 1 590 gas and chemical tank wagons from Azovmash, Saransk Railcar Repair Works and Railcar Manufacturing Company of Mordovia.
Silvinit has taken delivery of the first of 300 ore cars of 70 tonnes capacity which are being built by Stakhanov Wagon Works under a US$16m contract.
Transmash's Bryansk plant has delivered the first two of a batch of 10 2TE25KL Peresvet diesel locos ordered by Northern Railway, which will use them on Vorkuta - Sosnogorsk coal trains.
Serbia: On February 21 International Railway Systems signed a €57m contract to supply 50 wagons to Serbian Railways this year, funded by EBRD.?
ZS has awarded Hegenscheidt a €2m contract to supply a locomotive and wagon wheel lathe for the Makis marshalling yard.
Sweden: In March Transitio AB, a leasing company owned jointly by local authorities, ordered seven Itino2 two-car DMUs from Bombardier for an undisclosed price for delivery in 2009.
Last month Alstom announced a €27·5m order from Östgötatrafiken for five four-car Coradia Nordic DMUs, with options for five more of the winterised variants of the Lirex multiple-unit. Delivery is scheduled for the second half of 2009.
Turkey: Last month shortlisted companies Hyundai Rotem, Alstom, CAF and a consortium of Bombardier, Siemens and Nurol submitted bids to supply 440 coaches for the 76 km suburban railway which will use the Marmaray cross-Bosporus tunnel.
UK: Steel maker Corus has taken delivery of 40 steel coil wagons built by WH Davis and leased through VTG. They are fitted with telescopic hoods and timber lining to protect the 70 tonne loads.
Train operator Southern has placed a €70m order with Bombardier for a further 11 four-car 750 V DC third rail/25 kV dual-voltage Electrostar. A financier is being sought for the EMUs, which will be delivered from 2009 as part of a stock transfer associated with the Thameslink project (RG 3.08 p172).
Freight operator First GBRf was due to take delivery of a further five Electro-Motive Diesel JT42CWR Class 66 locos last month, leased through Porterbrook.
Translink has called tenders for the supply of 20 three-car 1 600 mm gauge DMUs for Northern Ireland, with options for a further 10. Delivery is planned for 2011 onwards.
USA: NJ Transit has ordered 27 Bombardier ALP-46A electric locos in a $229m deal which includes options for a further 33. They will be delivered from Kassel in Germany from late 2009.
An $44m order for 17 Bombardier BiLevel cars for the Northstar project was announced on March 10, with options for a further 64 vehicles. Knutson Construction has been awarded a $15m contract to build four stations for the 65 km commuter rail route between Minneapolis and Big Lake, where services are scheduled to begin in November 2009.
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway has carried out a week-long test of a National Railway Equipment Co N-ViroMotive three-engine genset shunter at its yard in Gary, Indiana.
- CAPTION: Australia: On March 10 China Northern began shipping 240 ore wagons to Rio Tinto through the port of Qingdao. A further 720 of the 36 tonne axleload wagons will be built this year under a second contract.
