Austria: Steiermärkische Landesbahn has acquired three CityShuttle coaches from ÖBB for school trains.
Azerbaijan: Alstom and Baku Metro have signed a ‘memorandum of mutual co-operation’ to develop metro cars for new lines and the gradual replacement of the existing fleet. A final agreement is to be signed within two months.
Belgium: De Lijn has awarded Bombardier a €6m contract to overhaul 20 trams used on the coastal line.
Brazil: 56 coaches including 10 first class cars and catering vehicles costing a total of €59m are due to enter service on the metre gauge Vitória a Minas Railway by the end of June. They are being supplied by Astra Vagoane Calatori under a €116m framework contract with Vale covering up to 100 vehicles. Vale is planning to introduce a new passenger fleet on its 1600 mm gauge Carajás Railway in 2015.
China: Under a contract worth €16·5m, Siemens’ Cornellà de Llobregat plant in Spain is to supply 66 traction converters for 33 DJ4 electric locomotives for CRC.
CSR Zhuzhou is testing a triple-section electric heavy haul freight locomotive.
Finland: The Finnish Transport Agency has awarded Sensys Traffic a SKr9m order to supply automated technology to identify damaged pantographs.
France: RATP has awarded Veolia Environnement a contract to dismantle 317 MS61 EMU cars formerly used on RER Line A. Work at be undertaken at the Bartin Recycling facility at Torvilliers will include asbestos removal and should see 97% of materials recovered.
On May 16 EIB and Caisse des Dépôts agreed to provide €194·1m towards the €270m cost of 10 Régiolis trainsets and 16 Régio2N EMUs being acquired by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region for local TER services. EIB is also lending Lorraine €37·5m towards the €80m acquisition of 10 Régiolis units.
Germany: MGW Service has ordered a Siemens Vectron locomotive for delivery in August 2014.
India: During the 2013-14 financial year IR’s Chittaranjan Locomotive Works produced 264 electric locos, Diesel Locomotive Works 304 diesel locos, Integral Coach Factory 1604 coaches, Rail Coach Factory 1550 coaches and Rail Wheel Factory 188188 wheels and 77406 axles.
Mongolia: Transmashholding’s Bryansk plant is to supply four TEM18DM shunters to Ulaanbaatar Railway.
Morocco: ONCF is to acquire 80 passenger cars for long-distance services, with 50 to be supplied by local manufacturer SCIF.
Norway: NSB has awarded a contract for the mid-life overhaul of its 20 Class 73 inter-city EMUs to NedTrain’s Haarlem workshops, ‘a great step for NedTrain in the export market’, according to the Dutch firm’s CEO Michiel van Roozendaal.
Poland: Pesa is to supply two 120 km/h single-car DMUs to Koleje Mazowieckie for 12·8m złoty, including two years of servicing.
MPK Łódź has bought two GT8N trams from Helsinki, taking its fleet to eight of the cars which were originally built for Mannheim.
Newag is to rebuild three SM42 shunters as Type 6Dg for Lotos Kolej, which has an option for 11 more.
Russia: United Wagon Co is to open a 3bn rouble tank wagon manufacturing facility at its Tikhvin site. Production is scheduled to begin in 2015, with an annual capacity of 3000 chemical, LPG and petroleum wagons ‘with improved technical and economic parameters’, including 25 tonne axleloads, a maximum payload of 74 tonnes, higher tank volumes, easier maintenance and longer design lives.
UWC is to lease 1 000 hopper and open wagons to Promkhimtrans for 10 years, and 400 grain and 600 hopper wagons to Sodrugestvo for five years.
South Africa: Alstom announced financial close on the €4bn contract for the supply of 600 X’Ttrapolis Mega commuter EMUs to Prasa on April 29. This follows the signing in October of the contract covering the delivery of 3600 cars over 10 years. The first 20 X’Trapolis Mega (MEtric GAuge) 1067 mm gauge EMUs are to be produced at Lapa in Brazil, and the rest at a plant to be built in Dunnottar, 50 km east of Johannesburg. The Gibela joint venture led by Alstom and co-owned by local shareholders Ubumbano Rail and New Africa Rail will provide support and spares for 18 years.
Voith is to supply 4800 Scharfenberg couplers for the X’Trapolis EMUs.
Turkey: Konya has ordered 12 Škoda Transportation trams capable of catenary-free operation on a new line which will have a 1·8 km section without wires.
UK: Direct Rail Services has exercised an option for Vossloh España to supply a further 10 Class 68 UKLight locos. This takes its total order to 25 Class 68 diesel and 10 Class 88 electro-diesel locos to be delivered in 2014-16 and leased from Beacon Rail.
GB Railfreight is to lease 18 Ecofret triple-platform container wagons from VTG Rail UK for five years. They are designed to maximise the number of 40 ft containers carried in a given train length, reflecting the growing importance of 40 ft boxes in the maritime sector.
London Underground has awarded Clayton Equipment a £4·5m contract to convert 14 Schöma works locos from diesel to battery-electric traction.
Lucchini UK has signed a contract to supply 3500 wheelsets for the Hitachi IEP trains for the Great Western and East Coast main lines. Voith is to supply SE-369 gear units with aluminium housings.
USA: CAF USA is to supply 24 70% low-floor LRVs for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Boston Green Line under a $118m contract. Deliveries will run from the end of 2017 until the end of 2018.
