A global market survey by Rail Baltica promoter RB Rail found that 80% of the 77 companies surveyed had evaluated procurement conditions for the project positively. ‘This is a very positive and high evaluation’, said Chief Procurement Officer Kristjan Piirsalu. The survey found that suppliers preferred participating in value-based tenders with other criteria in addition to price, rather than purely price-based tenders which required a precise and detailed technical description by the contracting authority.
John Laing Group has refinanced the New Generation Rollingstock project to provide and maintain 75 six-car EMUs for the South East Queensland suburban network using its first sustainable loan. The existing debt facilities were refinanced with a A$630 million Green Loan with Climate Bond Initiative certification, as the 30-year project meets the Climate Bonds Standard criteria for low carbon transport and will help to avoid greenhouse gas emissions from alternative modes.
US track and rolling stock component supplier A Stucki Co has appointed John O’Bryan as Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Bill Kiefer who has retired after leading the company since 2003 and will continue to serve on the board. David Brown who served as Interim CEO will continue as CFO. O’Bryan has helped lead private and publicly traded rail companies for over 20 years, including supported the purchase and integration of ARI Manufacturing by The Greenbrier Companies.
CAF Signalling has obtained ETCS Baseline 3 Release 2 certification according to TSI 2019/776 for its AURIGA on-board equipment. The equipment has been fitted to an EM100 Measuring Car manufactured by Plasser & Theurer in collaboration with AŽD Praha and authorised for operation in the Czech Republic.
Immense and Systra Group have formed a strategic partnership to supply simulation and modelling software for planning transport systems. Immense CEO Robin North said the partnership ‘gives us access to unparalleled expertise to provide confidence in infrastructure systems decisions’, while Systra Ltd CEO Nick Salt said ‘the power and flexibility offered by Immense’s platform will complement the expertise of our teams’.