Lifting products company Pfaff Verkehrstechnik has been merged into Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH; the portfolio will continue unchanged.
On July 6 Kontron announced that it had signed a contract to purchase 100% of Swiss rail data communication repeater specialist Comlab. Completion is expected by the end of July, with Comlab to be fully integrated into Kontron Transportation. Kontron said Comlab broke even in 2022 with €20m of business, and the acquisition would strengthen its rail business by bringing strong engineering capabilities and a footprint in Switzerland, Germany and China where Kontron is looking to increase its presence.
Fernando Pérez has been appointed as CEO of Alpha Trains. He has been with the leasing company since 2001, holding engineering roles before being promoted to Managing Director of the Locomotives Division in October 2012, and being Interim CEO since March 2023.
Watson Farley & Williams advised Nexrail on its Project Sigma, a €322m sustainability-linked debt facility with a syndicate of 10 banks which was agreed to refinance the leasing company’s existing fleet and finance new-build orders and future capital expenditure. Ashurst acted for the lenders and Luther provided Nexrail with advice on Luxembourg law.
The Greenbrier Companies received orders for 4 600 wagon units valued at $650m in Q3 to May 31 2023, and delivered 6 600 units. ‘Certain manufacturing efficiencies were achieved ahead of plan, and we expect further improvement’, said President & CEO Lorie L Tekorius. ‘Our new railcar backlog provides strong revenue visibility and further confidence as we execute our strategic plan. We are excited as we embark on our multi-year strategy, including a substantial lease fleet investment. This will maximise Greenbrier’s financial performance during periods of strong market demand and stabilise performance at higher levels when demand is less favourable.’
Transport textile manufacturer Camira has issued Environmental Product Declarations for 21 of its products. The assessment by SCS Global Services evaluated environmental impact across a fabric’s entire lifecycle, from sourcing materials including raw wool from sheep farms in New Zealand through transport, packaging, manufacturing and use to end-of-life.
Trinity Industries has announced its intention to raise US$400m through an offering of Senior Notes due in 2028. It intends to use the proceeds to repay outstanding borrowings under its existing corporate revolving credit facility and other purposes including the repayment of Senior Notes due in 2024.
Mikhail Khodorovsky has been appointed President & Chairman of Sinara Group as part of a reorganisation of the holding company’s assets. He is succeeded as CEO by Viktor Lesh, who previously headed the group’s Sinara Transport Machines business.
Boldyn Networks has expanded Group CTO Brendan O’Reilly’s role by also appointing him as Group Chief Operating Officer. He will support key neutral host communications projects for customers including Transport for London, New York MTA and San Francisco Muni.
Spanish infrastructure manager ADIF has awarded Teléfonos Líneas & Centrales and Syneox Rail a €9·8m 23-month contract to modernise its optic fibre network in northern Spain.
Emilien Dang has been appointed Chief Technical Officer at Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail and has joined the six-member management board. He was previously Managing Director of Egis Group’s signalling subsidiary Sintra. As Project Director at Thales US, he led a CBTC project on the Flushing Line of the New York Subway, and he has also held the position of Signalling Project Manager for the Doha Metro.
On June 22 the Rail Working Group convened the first meeting of an advisory panel formed to make the case for the adoption of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol by the Italian government. An industry and government workshop is planned for later in the year.
Enhancing Excellence has been established in the UK to provide bespoke human factors services in transport and other safety-critical industries, drawing on the experience of sister company Salos Sunesis in the aviation and oil and gas sectors.
