Ukrainian company TAS has increased its share in the Austrian wagon manufacturer TransANT from 40 to 61·4%. Voestalpine and ÖBB Rail Cargo Group retain stakes of 31% and 7·6% respectively. TAS became a shareholder of TransANT at the beginning of 2023, and then began production of TransANT wagons at its TAS Dneprovagonmash plant for delivery to EU customers.
On May 16 Rock Rail and Infracapital announced that they had closed the financing of 41 three-car Siemens Mobility Mireo EMUs for use on Mitteldeutschen S-Bahn 2025plus Lot 2 services. This follows a deal for Lot 1 which closed in December 2023. MEAG is acting as sole arranger across both lots for the senior debt financing on behalf of Munich Re and other institutional lenders. The Lot 2 EMUs will be leased to Die Länderbahn for use on serves around Halle.
SNCF Energie has agreed a 25-year corporate power purchase agreement for Valorem to supply 93 GWh/year of low-carbon electricity.
Kerem Bugay has been appointed as Managing Director of Alstom Turkey. He has held leadership roles at companies including GE, Dupont, Sabancı, Rönesans and Sanko Holding.
Sinara Group is recruiting staff to enable it to begin series production of trams at a factory in Yekaterinburg from 2025.
Ticket retailer Trainline has appointed Alice Coverlizza as Vice-President of its B2B arm Trainline Partner Solutions. She joins from Everli, where she was Chief Business Officer, and will be based in Trainline’s Milano office.
The European Investment Bank and Nordic Investment Bank have signed agreements to each provide loans of €100m to finance Lithuanian operator LTG Link’s June 2023 €226·5m order for nine electric and six battery Stadler Flirt multiple-units. ‘Sustainable transport is a high priority for us’, said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. ‘The transition to an electrified railway fleet will benefit both passengers and the environment.’
Two dedicated panels focusing on the Rail Baltica project will be included in a French-Latvian Business Forum bringing together transport, defence and renewable energy sector leaders in Riga on May 22.
Association Française de Certification has certified that Alstom‘s Canadian business meets the Corporate Social Responsibility Commitment ’Confirmed’ standard, the second highest rating out of four. ‘In addition to our good governance, the report highlights the impact of our new Green Innovation Centre, our initiatives to diversify the industry including attracting and developing more women at all levels across our organisation, and our Community Ambassadors who lead CSR projects’, said Michael Keroullé, President of Alstom Americas.
Great Rail Journeys has promoted Liz Owens to SVP General Manager of its US division Vacations By Rail, while Missy Paul has been promoted to Director of Independent Operations of Vacations By Rail. Sarah McMullen has stepped up from Head of People to Director of People at GRJ, leading the development and talent management across European and the Americas.
