Alstom recorded orders of €1·91bn in Q1 from April 1 to June 30, with major orders in Canada, Vietnam. Senegal and Germany, the USA and the Philippines. Sales of €1·86bn were up 6% (5% organically) compared to the same period last year, as a result of deliveries of regional trains in France and Sweden, high speed trains in France and Italy, progress with Riyadh metro and PRASA contracts, a maintenance contract in the UK and the start of the Dubai metro extension project.
PowerRail Locomotive Services is expanding the existing building at the locomotive workshop at Monroe in the US state of Georgia, which it bought in 2014, and is to install two overhead cranes and a building for running repairs.
UK contractor Trackwork Group has acquired signalling design installation and testing company TICS (Global) Ltd, which has more than 65 staff and offices in Doncaster, York and Peterborough. TICS is to retain is separate identity.
Voestalpine has announced that it is to invest €100m in its Donawitz site in Austria, setting up a new metallurgy research facility able to produce small batches of high performance steel for testing as well as a high automated 950 000 tonne/year capacity continuous casting line to produce high purity steel for applications including premium rails.
US wagon manufacturer Vertex Railcar Corp has obtained AAR M-1002 certification for the production of tank wagons.
Vossloh AG has issued a €250m Schuldschein loan in four tranches, replacing a large part of the syndicated loan issued in 2015. ‘The successful conclusion of the transaction is an important milestone in Vossloh's financing strategy’, said CFO Oliver Schuster on July 12. ‘We have secured attractive conditions for the coming years and have optimised our maturity structure with staggered terms of maturity. The high level of demand underlines the trust of investors in Vossloh.’ The placement was arranged by BNP Paribas and Helaba.
The fatigue testing lab at Bombardier Transportation’s Bogie Technical Centre at Siegen in Germany has received DAkkS accreditation, enabling it to test and verify products at earlier stages of development.
On July 10 Balfour Beatty announced the formation of a UK strategic design consultant partnership with Atkins, Mott MacDonald and WSP, saying it would focus the procurement of design consultants for its projects towards the three companies with standard terms and conditions. Balfour Beatty said customers will benefit from earlier engagement with a co-ordinated collaborative team and improved, consistent working practices which would reduce construction and programme costs.
