PCM RailOne has announced plans to develop a $20m factory in North Las Vegas to produce concrete sleepers for the Brightline West high speed rail project. ‘Logistically transporting 600 pounds of concrete blocks … from one corner to another corner of the USA makes no sense’, the company’s Head of North America Saurav Mittal told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Construction of the plant is expected to begin in October.
Czech rail industry association ACRI and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ran a business mission to India in June, attended by representatives from 10 ACRI member companies. ‘We encountered exceptional interest from the Indian side in the presentation of our services and products, reported ACRI Managing Director Marie Vopálenská. ‘We received a very warm welcome, for example, at the Ministry of Railways in Delhi, and at the Delhi metro. We also visited the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala and other companies.’
Private equity company CVC announced on June 27 that it had acquired UK-based contractor M Group Services Ltd from PAI Partners. MGS was formed in 2016 from the former Morrison Utility Services business; it provides repair and asset maintenance activities across multiple industries, including rail where its customers have included Transport for London, Network Rail and Nexus.
The Director General of the Universal Postal Union Masahiko Metoki and OTIF Secretary General Wolfgang Küpper renewed the two organisations’ Memorandum of Understanding in Bern on June 26, following the expiry of an initial MoU signed in 2018. The latest MoU reiterates a commitment to develop and facilitate the transport of international postal items by rail, enabling joint working groups to be set up where necessary.
Alstom has launched a share capital increase with shareholders’ preferential subscription rights worth approximately €1bn, including the issue premium. The group’s Combined Shareholders’ Meeting on June 20 approved the planned restructuring of the senior management, with Board Director Philippe Petitcolin becoming Chairman and Henri Poupart-Lafarge continuing as Chief Executive Officer.