Alstom has formally opened its test and technology centre in Västerås, employing around 500 people across its Rolling Stock and Components, Digital and Integrated Systems, Services and management disciplines. The facility has added around 10 000 m2 of office space to the site, with a focus on building partnerships with local start-ups and small businesses and fostering relationships with Swedish universities. ‘Bringing our top skills together under one roof has created a hub where engineers and office employees collaborate closely with the production plant and our cutting-edge labs. This cohesion encourages stronger partnerships across industries, higher education institutions and start-ups’, said Maria Signal Martebo, Managing Director of Alstom in Sweden.
Madrid-based Indra and Amey announced on November 30 that they had formed a strategic partnership to enter the UK rail signalling market. The two companies are to develop and integrate digital signalling technology in accordance with open standards, including digital interlocking and ETCS equipment. ‘This agreement with Amey allows us to move forward in the railway sector with a groundbreaking open signalling proposal, as well as to strengthen our presence in the UK, a market in which we have a long-term vision’, said Raúl Ripio, Director of Indra’s Mobility business.
Alpha Trains has appointed Vincent Pouyet as Managing Director of its Locomotives Division with effect from December 1. He has been with the rolling stock leasing company since 2018, having previously worked for Bombardier Transportation in France.
Distribution specialist Rail Europe has updated its range of software tools and services to support third-party access to its fares and journey planning databases. Newly added is a tool called RailFlash, which the company says is an ‘API-like solution, ideal for businesses aiming for swift, lightweight connectivity without the need for comprehensive integration’.
ABB has opened a production facility at Coleshill in the UK to support increasing demand for cabling in industrial applications including rail.
Kerstin Kamphaus has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief People & Culture Officer at VTG. She starts in the role on January 1 2024, joining from the wagon leasing company Maersk Group, where she had responsibility for the group’s strategic recruitment issues.