Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid a foundation stone for a Rs200bn expansion of Indian Railways’ production unit at Dahod in Gujarat on April 20. The workshop produced its first electric locomotive in 2003-04, and is to be upgraded to produce 9 000 hp locos. ‘The demand for electric locomotives is increasing in foreign countries. Dahod will play a big role in meeting this demand. India is now one of the few countries in the world that makes powerful loco of 9 000 hp’, Modi said.
Andrey Bokarev stepped down as President and board member of Russian rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding on April 22.
Safety, regulatory and compliance specialist Spark Training Solutions has joined the American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association’s member discount programme. ‘Our members, especially our smallest railroad members, will appreciate the option to participate in random testing pools and consortiums’, said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker.
SKF is to cease all business and operations in Russia, and ‘divest the business in a controlled manner with the clear ambition of ensuring a future for SKF’s employees in Russia’. On April 22 President & CEO Rickard Gustafson said ’we have concluded that it is impossible for us to continue our operations in Russia, as the basis and stability for our business does not exist’ following the invasion of Ukraine. Sales in Russia accounted for 2% of the group’s turnover in 2021, and a write-down of SKr500m will be recognised in Q2.
Trinity Industries delivered 2 470 wagons and received orders for 5 055 more in Q1 to March 31, when it had a backlog of US$1·9bn. ‘Trinity’s first quarter results are highlighted by strong orders and deliveries evidenced by a book-to-bill ratio of 2.0x in the quarter’, said President & CEO Jean Savage. ‘Though labour and supply chain challenges persist, we are confident that deliveries in 2022 will be strong and represent a broad-based industrial recovery for North America.’
Maxim Tevs has been appointed General Director of RM Rail, succeeding Vitaly Starikov who had led the Russian wagon manufacturer since June 2020.