Argentina: Under a presidential decree awaiting signature as of mid-May, provincial passenger operators FeMed (Córdoba), Sefecha (Chaco), UEPFP (Buenos Aires) and Sefepa (Río Negro) were due to receive a total of 6m pesos in emergency operating subsidy from the government in 2003, intended to cover higher fuel and spare parts costs following currency devaluation.
Canada:CPR has signed a letter of intent for Manulife Financial Group Benefits to administer all benefits and insurance claims for its Canadian employees.
Europe: The Swiss government has offered to contribute €50m towards the cost of electrifying the Geltendorf - Lindau section of the München - Zürich line.
Russia:The Ministry of Railways has announced plans to spend 45bn roubles on infrastructure repair works in 2003, an increase of 20%.
Spain:The Ministry of Development is to provide €69·5m towards a four-year €187·9m programme to build a transport interchange in Alacant and put underground Renfe tracks through the city. The Valencia regional government is to provide €48·4m, while the remainder should be generated through property development.
South Africa: Spoornet has allocated R500m for infrastructure upgrading at Port Elizabeth, including a link to the Coega deep water harbour by 2005.
In the next four years Spoornet is to invest over R122m in infrastructure and rolling stock on the Orex and Coallink heavy-haul lines, and R30m constructing a new line at Brits for ferrochrome export traffic.
United Kingdom: National Express plans to withdraw from the consortium which owns Eurostar UK later this year. It currently has a 40% ’investment shareholding’, which it describes as ’not core to us as a group’. Eurostar plans a major restructuring of its three separate companies into a single organisation later this year, under the name ’Project Jupiter’.
USA: FTA has awarded Seattle’s Sound Transit a $9·9m grant for right of way acquisition and station construction on the planned Sounder 11·2 km Tacoma - Lakewood commuter rail extension.
