In Numbers

$122m

Tata Sons, the owner of Tata Group, is set to invest $122m (INR9.75bn) in Pune IT City Metro Rail in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

$600m

US-based Union Pacific has rolled out a $600m green bond offering to support investments aimed at cutting down its carbon footprint and reaching emission reduction goals.

$811m

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles’ business unit CAF USA has received an $811m contract from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for the supply of light rail vehicles.

 3.7 million

August was a record-breaking month for Eurotunnel as a total of 54,501 pet journeys were recorded. Since 2000, over 3.7 million pets have travelled on Le Shuttle.

1,000

Construction of High-Speed Two’s new interchange station in the West Midlands, UK is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs in the coming five years.

£3.6bn

The UK Government has entered an agreement with Transport for London on a new longer-term funding settlement, helping support almost £3.6bn of critical infrastructure works.

Projects

CTDOT breaks ground on new train station in Connecticut, US

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has broken ground on a new train station in Windsor Locks, a town in Hartford County, US.

Situated in the downtown area of the town beside the old station, the new station will feature a high-level platform to enable level boarding from every train car.

The project will include the establishment of connections to the canal trail through bridge street. Bus services will be continued to Bradley International Airport.

Source: Railway Technology

Siemens concludes Paris Metro Line 4 modernisation project

Siemens Mobility, a separately managed company of Siemens, has announced the completion of the modernisation of Line 4 of the Paris Metro in France.

The company supported RATP and Ile-de-France Mobilités to conclude the automation of Line 4, which will help centralise control of operations and boost capacity.

Line 4’s digitalisation and optimisation will enable RATP to increase frequency by decreasing intervals between trains to 85 from 105 seconds.

Source: Railway Technology

Rail Baltica enters mainline construction procurement stage II in Latvia

Swedish construction company Skanska, as part of the Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture, has announced the receipt of a further £78m ($92.6m) contract to carry out works on the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line in the UK.

The latest award has been provided under the existing contract with HS2 for works on the first phase of the project. The contract is associated with the planned and agreed changes to the scope of works under the original award.

Source: Railway Technology

In Quotes

In a letter to new Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch URGes HER TO TAKE A NEW APPROACH TO THE RAIL DISPUTE:

"We are encouraged that you are on the record as wanting to save rail ticket offices, staffing and services in your own constituency and I would urge you to continue this approach as Secretary of State.
 
"There is clearly now the opportunity for a new approach from the government to facilitate discussions between the RMT and the employers where the train companies and Network Rail are given more flexibility to secure a deal that is in the interests of workers, passengers and the country as a whole."

Source: PMLive

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), urges the new Prime Minister to adopt The RIA six-point plan for the future of UK rail:

“With passenger numbers now regularly hitting well over 90% of pre-pandemic levels, and freight back to high volumes too, it is clear that rail not only has a bright and prosperous future but can play a key role in helping the wider national economic recovery, in what we know are uncertain times.

“From providing certainty of work to delivering major projects and getting the delivery of GBR [Great British Rail] right, we urge PM Liz Truss and her top team to make progress on the six ‘asks’ we are setting out today. By doing this she can ensure the railway industry gets the support it needs in the coming months, to help it deliver for the UK, its economy and connectivity, in the years ahead.”