SCANDINAVIA: Swedish infrastructure authority Banverket and its Norwegian counterpart Jernbaneverket have awarded Bombardier an eight-year framework contract to supply onboard equipment as part of their ERTMS roll-out programme.

Announcing the deal on April 2, Bombardier said the contract is expected to be worth €30m in the first year, covering the fitting of EBI Cab 2000 onboard equipment to up to 220 vehicles, and the delivery of <acronym title="European Rail Traffic Management System">ERTMS</acronym> products and services for all new and retrofitted vehicles in the two countries. The agreement is expected to be worth €20 0m over eight years, and also includes an option for an eight-year extension.

Banverket and Jernbaneverket will pay for country and vehicle adaptations and safety approvals for up to eight vehicle types.

• On April 23 the European Commission adopted an amendment to the <acronym title="European Train Control System">ETCS</acronym> specifications, which it says is intended to 'fine tune the specifications in order to move from local to global compati­bility' and 'eliminate the risk of any ambiguity that might have resulted in incompatible projects'. A recommendation on updating Annex A of the Control Command & Signalling TSI was submitted to the Commission by the European Rail Agency on January 14.