Indian Railways has taken delivery of the 500th of 800 Prima T8 WAG12B electric locomotives being supplied from Alstom’s Madhepura site under a €3·5bn contract. The factory has a capacity of 120 locomotives/year and Alstom says it has progressively achieved ‘near 90%’ localisation.
Alstom has reached an agreement for defence company KNDS to take over its Görlitz factory in Germany, with around 580 of the 700 employees to have continued employment at one of the companies. KNDS plans to produce assemblies for Leopard 2 tanks and Puma infantry fighting vehicles at the site, as well as modules for Boxer wheeled armoured vehicles. The transition will take place gradually from this year and is expected to be completed in 2027. Ongoing double-deck train and tram projects will be processed in Görlitz or relocated.
Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group has announced ‘a strategic shift’ from April 1, with Sandra Resch and Manfred Fitz taking over as joint Managing Directors in succession to Robert Kumpusch who is stepping down. Resch is currently Co-Managing Director, while Fitz is Managing Director, International. ‘We have gained a leadership duo that will successfully advance and sustainably expand our comprehensive range of services for the efficient, high-quality, and on-time execution of railway infrastructure projects’, explained CEO Thomas Bachhofner.
Dutch national passenger operator NS has begun showing advertising on its onboard information screens. Recognising that travel information remained the most important feature, NS said this would always be visible in a fixed bar below the advertising, which is on the screen for 10 to 20 sec approximately every 5 min, or every 4 min at peak times.
Rob Russell and Shawntell Kroese have launched Russell-Kroese Partners to provide consultancy services for the US rail, logistics and property development sectors. This includes contract development, carrier negotiations, transload facility development, market studies, intermodal strategies, network optimisation, commodity-specific support, rail financial analyses and sustainability programmes.
Network Rail Consulting Australia has appointed Jonathan Hayes as Director, Digital Signalling Systems. He was previously Head of Programme Engineering & Systems Management at the British infrastructure manager.
Windhoff commissioned PJM to carry out the German approval testing of its VentuS modular multi-purpose vehicle developed for Deutsche Bahn.
Egis has joined the executive committee of the US High Speed Rail Association, bringing expertise in development from initial concept and design to construction, testing, commissioning and operational commencement. ‘We are excited to be a part of USHSR and collaborate with fellow members to advance railway infrastructure’, said Tom Longest, CEO of Egis in the USA. ‘There is immense potential for high speed rail to dramatically transform the country’s transportation system, and we are proud to share our knowledge to help it flourish.’
Harry Zander has become Chief Commercial Officer at Intramotev, which is developing battery-electric propulsion technology for retrofitting to freight wagons. His previous roles have included Chief Revenue Officer at Patriot Rail, and SVP New Product Development at TrinityRail.
Systra has moved its Glasgow office to a new location in Bothwell Street. Managing Director of Consultancy Seb Dupont said the new office was ‘within striking distance of Central station and Queen Street station, making it highly accessible by train, bike and bus for our colleagues, clients and partners’.