Siemens gets €650m contract to build 32 trainsets for VIA Rail Canada

Siemens Mobility has secured a €650m contract to design and deliver 32 bi-directional trainsets to VIA Rail Canada.

The contract also includes a 15-year Technical Services and Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA) for maintenance services of the fleet.

The trainsets will replace the current fleet that operates on VIA’s Quebec City–Windsor Corridor route.

Spanning more than 2,200km, the corridor connects Toronto and Montreal, the two largest cities in the country. This year, more than 4.5 million passengers travelled through this route.

VIA Rail Canada president and CEO Yves-Desjardins-Siciliano said: “As we are initiating the gradual withdrawal of the current fleet, the timely delivery of the new fleet will allow VIA Rail to maintain the current levels of service in the Québec-City Windsor Corridor, while significantly improving the quality of its passenger experience.”

The trainsets will be powered by diesel-electric charger locomotives and will be equipped with various features, such as modern climate control, high-performance Wi-Fi and digital information system to increase passenger comfort.

They will also feature LED lighting, USB ports, wide seats, flexible luggage space and a separate area to keep bikes.

Additionally, the units will be designed to ensure universal accessibility and comply with the latest safety standards.

Siemens Mobility CEO Sabrina Soussan said: “Siemens Mobility is committed to delivering intelligent trains that enhance passenger experience, increase value sustainably over their lifecycle and improve availability.”

The trains will be built at Siemens Mobility’s rolling stock manufacturing facility in Sacramento, California.

With deliveries scheduled to begin in 2021, they will be deployed for passenger service from 2022.

UK’s National Rail to trial personalised travel update services

National Rail is set to trial technology that will help provide personalised travel updates to passengers in the UK.

The move aims to keep customers updated on their scheduled journeys, including possible delays and disruptions. The service will also offer information on alternative trains if the respective train is cancelled.

Customers who take part in the trial will receive travel updates through Facebook Messenger tailored according to their requirements.

During the trials, they can sign up for travel alerts for regular or one-off journeys by tapping the ‘Keep Me Updated’ button.

National Rail official Crispin Humm said: “We are committed to putting our customers at the heart of everything we do, which is why we’re investing to deliver new technology that will allow us to provide a more tailored service, keeping our customers informed during times of disruption.

“This new tool will provide customers with useful and relevant information so that they will feel in control of their journeys.”

Information provided to passengers will include delays of more than 10% of their total journey time. This service will enable passengers to adjust their schedules accordingly.

Developed by transport tech specialists Zipabout using their communication platform, the technology is expected to eliminate the need to look for the latest updates on train services through their websites or Twitter feeds.

Zipabout Product head Alex Froom said: “Whilst Twitter is a great information tool, people don’t want to scroll endlessly through news feeds to find out about delays to journeys that may not be relevant to them.

“By harnessing this new technology National Rail will be able to get bespoke, accurate information to customers in order to better help make their end-to-end journeys with ease.”

The platform will be trialled on the National Rail website for six months.

Rwanda and Tanzania to expedite cross-border railway project

Rwanda and Tanzania have agreed to expedite the process to implement the Isaka-Kigali Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, a cross-border railway link connecting the two countries.

Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure Claver Gatete met with Tanzanian counterpart Isack Kamwelwe to discuss and devise a plan to implement the cross-border railway project.

The meeting follows a discussion between the senior officials and technocrats of the two countries held last week to chalk out the remaining details of the project, Xinhua reported.

The two countries also agreed to continue discussions over the financing options to implement the rail link and its subsequent mode of operations.

Kamwelwe was quoted by the news agency as saying: “We are committed to strengthen our collaboration and ensure that the Isaka-Kigali railway project becomes a reality in shortest possible time.”

The 400km-long SGR project will connect Tanzania’s Isaka to Kigali in Rwanda. It is expected to provide improved railway connectivity and reduce freight transportation costs in the East Africa region.

The cross-border railway project will enable landlocked Rwanda to access the Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania. It will support the transfer of goods from Dar es Salaam port to Burundi and Congo.

According to initial studies, the project is estimated to cost $2.5bn.

Tanzania is expected to raise $1.3bn for the project, while Rwanda will bear the remaining $1.2bn costs.

Kamwelwe added that they are considering various funding options for the project including from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The Isaka-Kigali SGR project was launched by the two governments in January.

Angel Trains enters partnership for 3D-printed rail components

UK-based train leasing company Angel Trains has partnered with 3D printing technology provider Stratasys and engineering consultancy ESG Rail to manufacture 3D-printed interior rail components.

The additive manufacturing process will manufacture four approved components, including an armrest, grab handle and seat back table.

These 3D-printed rail components are expected to be trialled on passenger trains next year.

The collaboration aims to utilise additive manufacturing technology to address the issue of outdated components in the vehicles.

It will enable train operators to manufacture low run parts based on requirements instead of mass production, helping to reduce rehabilitation costs.

Additionally, the technology aims to increase the operating life of rolling stock by replacing the obsolete parts.

Angel Trains technical director Mark Hicks said: “This exciting industry-first collaboration has the potential to transform manufacturing within the rail industry.

“We are proud to be driving this innovation with ESG Rail and Stratasys and hope that this solution will help to free the industry from technological constraints, and allow our trains to continue to meet passengers’ needs now and in the future.”

The collaboration will utilise high-performance materials such as Stratasys Antero 800 NA, a PEKK-based thermoplastic, to develop the products.

All the components will be designed for additive manufacturing and 3D printing using Stratasys’ Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technology.

Subsequently, the parts will be structurally assessed by ESG Rail to ensure their suitability.

Stratasys strategic account team EMEA manager Yann Rageul said: “With the highest level of repeatability in the industry and advanced, rail-certified,

materials, we believe our FDM additive manufacturing solutions offer huge potential to replace traditional manufacturing for a diverse range of applications within the rail industry.

“This collaboration will help us to explore how we can support rail companies such as Angel Trains to produce parts on-demand, both cost-effectively and efficiently, eradicating the need for obsolete inventory and improving their ability to service customers.”

Network Rail opens Eurostar terminal platforms at Waterloo station

UK’s Network Rail has opened the former Eurostar terminal at Waterloo station, as a part of its £800m project to bolster the South Western Railway network.

Platforms 20 to 22 now offer services to Reading, Windsor and south-west London, and will be expanded to offer additional space to passengers. Platforms 23 and 24 will be opened in May.

The opening of the former Eurostar terminal is also expected to ease passenger congestion at Waterloo station, the busiest railway station in the country.

It will provide additional concourse waiting space, ticket barriers and customer information systems, as well as direct access to the London Underground.

The station was earlier used for international Eurostar services from 1994 to November 2007, connecting the UK with mainland Europe.

Network Rail Wessex route managing director Andy Thomas said: “We are putting passengers at the heart of our approach to running the railway, and this incredible piece of engineering is all about giving better journeys to the many millions of people who travel on this route every year.

“Thousands of our engineers and track staff have worked tirelessly over the last three years, rebuilding this iconic terminal from the top to bottom.”

The opening of the terminal follows the platform extension works at Waterloo and an additional nine stations along the route. The expansion helps in accommodating longer trains at the platforms.

South Western Railway managing director Andy Mellors said: “The reopening of platforms at the former Waterloo International Terminal means more flexibility for our train services and will help to improve punctuality, especially during peak times.

“Between now and May next year, we will be providing over 6,000 extra seats into our fleet to deliver more capacity for customers. This is in addition to the 15,000 extra seats already provided into and from Waterloo since the franchise began last summer.”

Alstom wins €100m rail signalling contract in India

Alstom has secured a contract worth more than €100m to supply a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system for Line 3 of the Mumbai Metro.

Under the terms of the contract awarded by Mumbai Metro Rail (MMRCL), Alstom will supply and equip the Mumbai Metro Line 3 with Urbalis 400, the latest generation of CBTC signalling technology.

Designed specifically for heavy ridership metros, the deployment of Urbalis 400 will support in alleviating Mumbai’s commuter congestion. It will also enable the operator to improve headway and average speed performance of the metro system.

The contract also includes the delivery of an unmanned train operation (UTO) and computer-based interlocking with centralised train supervision, as well as electrical and mechanical supervisory control and data acquisition system (E&M SCADA) services.

Alstom managing director for India and South Asia Alain Spohr said: “Alstom is extremely proud to have won three big contracts for Line 3 of Mumbai Metro, emerging as the partner of choice for this prestigious project.

“This major signalling contract confirms the trust our customer MMRCL has in us.”

This contract follows the rolling stock and power supply contracts secured by the company earlier this year. In India, Alstom has already deployed Urbalis technology in the Kochi and Lucknow metros.

Overall, it has been deployed across 96 urban rail lines (more than 55 are in service), covering 1,900 track miles and 1,100 stations.

In October, MMRCL awarded a contract to Johnson Lifts Pvt Ltd India & M/s SJEC Corporation China Consortium to supply escalators to 14 Line 3 stations.

The overall project, which secured a loan of Rs132.35bn ($1.8bn) from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is estimated to cost Rs231.36bn ($3.1bn).

New South Wales to study high-speed rail network potential

The Government of New South Wales in Australia has launched a study to implement a high-speed rail network across the key routes in the state.

The government has already identified four potential routes and has appointed High-Speed Rail expert professor Andrew McNaughton to confirm the appropriate routes, train operating speed and station locations.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian opined that the faster rail network will increase the travel choices of regular passengers.

Berejiklian said: “We know a fast rail network will transform NSW unlike any other project and we will make it a reality.

“We need to make it easier for people to consider moving to regional NSW and there is no better way to do that than building a fast rail network.”

The four potential routes are located within 300km of Sydney, the capital of the province. They are Northern Route, Southern Inland Route, Western Route and Southern Coastal Route.

High-speed operations on these routes would decrease travel times by up to 75%.

Berejiklian added: “The experts will provide advice to the government on what is possible and what would be involved.”

The study by McNaughton is expected to enable the government to devise an informed approach to deliver the fast rail by carrying out immediate improvement works on the state rail network.

It will also help to develop a long-term plan for implementing high-speed rail corridors.

New South Wales Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said: “In the immediate future, faster rail would see upgrades along existing rail alignments and provide services of at least 200km/h, slashing travel times by one third.”

New South Wales to study high-speed rail network potential

The Government of New South Wales in Australia has launched a study to implement a high-speed rail network across the key routes in the state.

The government has already identified four potential routes and has appointed High-Speed Rail expert professor Andrew McNaughton to confirm the appropriate routes, train operating speed and station locations.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian opined that the faster rail network will increase the travel choices of regular passengers.

Berejiklian said: “We know a fast rail network will transform NSW unlike any other project and we will make it a reality.

“We need to make it easier for people to consider moving to regional NSW and there is no better way to do that than building a fast rail network.”

The four potential routes are located within 300km of Sydney, the capital of the province. They are Northern Route, Southern Inland Route, Western Route and Southern Coastal Route.

High-speed operations on these routes would decrease travel times by up to 75%.

Berejiklian added: “The experts will provide advice to the government on what is possible and what would be involved.”

The study by McNaughton is expected to enable the government to devise an informed approach to deliver the fast rail by carrying out immediate improvement works on the state rail network.

It will also help to develop a long-term plan for implementing high-speed rail corridors.

New South Wales Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said: “In the immediate future, faster rail would see upgrades along existing rail alignments and provide services of at least 200km/h, slashing travel times by one third.”