The Australasian Railway Association has launched new branding ‘to better reflect the modern, sustainable and diverse industry we are proud to represent’.
As part of its Vossloh Connect digitalisation initiative, Vossloh has announced a strategic partnership with Swedish bolt and joint supplier Strainlabs. This will see Strainlabs’ IoT technology deployed to monitor the condition of bolted joints and rail screws, while Vossloh will distribute Strainlabs’ products through its sales channels. ‘With Strainlabs, you can monitor the integrity of rail infrastructure with unprecedented precision and collect real-time data on the stress and strain that critical components are subjected to’, says Pierre-Henri Bougeant, Head of Digitisation at Vossloh.
Key Systems & Components Group has acquired Knorr-Bremse’s assets in Russia, which have been divested as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine. ‘The plant built based on the best global practices has embodied many progressive ideas and solutions’, said Ilya Germanenko, head of KSC Group’s Braking Equipment Division. ‘In the new environment, it is important for us to keep the processes that are already in place, to achieve satisfactory results in the extremely challenging localisation process, and to launch new projects. The latter include repairing the brake equipment previously supplied by the company, the number of such items running into thousands, as well as mastering manufacture of new products.’
The Italian region of Liguria and national investment agency Invitalia have expressed interest in providing €14·9m of co-financing to enable Alstom’s Vado Ligure plant to undertake high speed and regional train maintenance. A new building would be able to accommodate 130 m long trainsets.
Kate Suprenuk has been promoted to President, Railcar Leasing North America at Marmon Rail, where she will lead the leasing business of Union Tank Car Co and Procor Ltd. Bill Constantino is to retire as Group President of Marmon Rail Leasing, becoming Senior Vice-President of Advisory Services on January 1.
David Cochrane has joined WSP as Senior Vice-President & Transportation Programme Director, based in the US Pacific Northwest. Previous work on the UK’s High Speed 2 programme ‘has given me a deep understanding of the complex, multi-disciplinary interfaces that exist on megaprojects’, he said. ‘Understanding those interfaces and how to manage them from the early stages of a project’s lifecycle will help WSP clients avoid pitfalls and deliver their requirements effectively.’
Juliane Storm-Ohm stepped down as Chief Operating Officer of Northrail AG and Managing Director of Northrail GmbH on November 9. Her roles have been temporarily taken on by other board members.
Spotnana is using Trainline Partner Solutions’ API to sell European tickets including support for split-ticket pricing in the UK, purchases of ancillaries and self-service booking changes and cancellations. It currently offers UK operators, Deutsche Bahn, SBB, Trenitalia and RENFE.
The Greenbrier Companies has released its 2023 environmental, social & governance report, entitled On Track Together. In FY2023 one wagon factory and eight maintenance services locations achieved at least one year without a recordable incident, and the company has introduced a Dynamic Hand Safety initiative to address its most prevalent safety incident. A pilot solar power project began at Greenbrier Tlaxcala in Mexico, and Greenbrier Maxion in Brazil and three facilities in Romania obtained ISO 14001 certifications.