Dear Readers
Happy New Year of the Horse and Gong Hei Fat Choy from all the Team at Rail Personnel.
Our Job of the Week this week is…
Rail News
17 February 2026. Australia. Sydney Metro hits 100 million passenger trips
Sydney’s M1 metro line has carried more than 100 million passenger trips since the City section opened below the CBD in August 2024, cementing the service as a popular and reliable way to travel across the harbour city. Services have achieved an average 99.64 per cent on-time running, while customer satisfaction remains at 98 per cent or higher. The milestone coincides with ongoing work on the Southwest Metro, which will extend services beyond Sydenham to Bankstown later this year.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
17 February 2026. United Kingdom. First major work begins to electrify the Borders Railway
Network Rail will begin the first stage of electrification on the Borders Railway later this week. The work follows the Scottish Government’s announcement in September last year of a £342 million investment to electrify routes in Fife and the Borders and introduce new battery‑electric trains. Electrification will help cut carbon emissions, improve air quality, enhance the passenger experience and reduce operating costs.
Source: Rail UK
CANADA: Toronto Transit Commission has placed a C$2·3bn directly-awarded contract for a fleet of 70 metro trains be supplied by Alstom, as the only company able to build the trains in Canada. In August 2025, TTC cancelled a competitive tender for the New Subway Trains contract in favour of negotiating a single-source agreement with Alstom. At the time TTC said ‘in the face of US tariffs and economic uncertainty, this decision will support Canadian and Ontario workers with good manufacturing jobs and ensure reliable trains’.
Source: Railway Gazette
Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Limited (MRVC), a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India under the Ministry of Railways, has awarded an infrastructure contract worth ₹219.18 crores to Texmaco Rail and Engineering Ltd. The contract covers the design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of signalling equipment for the proposed 5th and 6th railway lines between Borivali (BVI) and Virar (VR) stations in the Mumbai Suburban section under MUTP-IIIA.
Source: Metro Rail News
Parsons has been awarded a contract to carry out design and engineering work for a new light rail extension in eastern Los Angeles County, marking a further stage in the Foothill Gold Line project. The Parsons Transportation Group has received a 60 million USD, six-year contract from the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority following a competitive procurement process. The contract covers the design and engineering of a 2.3-mile extension of the LA Metro A Line from Pomona to Claremont.
Source: Railway-News
16 February 2026. Romania. TERNA–Alstom JV Selected as Contractor for €1 Billion Rail Upgrade
A joint venture comprised of TERNA and Alstom Romania has been selected as the contractor for two large-scale railway modernisation schemes in Romania, valued at approximately 1 billion EUR. Under the agreement, the consortium will carry out the design and full rehabilitation of two sections of the Craiova–Drobeta Turnu Severin–Caransebeș corridor. The first section, Craiova–Filiași (Lot 1), carries an allocated budget of approximately 543 million EUR, while the second, Filiași–Igiroasa (Lot 2), is valued at roughly 449 million EUR.
Source: Railway News
14 February 2026. Philippines. Marcos breaks ground on new subway stations
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday led the groundbreaking of the Kalayaan Avenue and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) stations of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), marking a major milestone in the government’s push to deliver faster, more reliable, and interconnected rail transport across the National Capital Region. In his speech during the ceremony in Taguig City, Marcos said that the project was not only about infrastructure but about restoring dignity to daily travel.
Source: The Manila Times
The Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia has approved an agreement to establish a high-speed electric rail service linking the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the State of Qatar. The decision was made during the Cabinet’s weekly session chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The railway will cover a distance of 785 kilometres, connecting the capitals Riyadh and Doha. The route will include major stations in Al-Hofuf and Dammam, as well as connections to Hamad International Airport in Qatar and King Salman International Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Source: Railway-News
