This week’s news from the global railway supply chain.
Liebherr Transportation Systems (China) in Pinghu has shipped the first of 550 HVAC units for coaches Stadler’s Kazakhstan subsidiary is building for national railway KTZ. Liebherr said the order marks its entry into the Kazakh rail market and was an important breakthrough in its internationalisation strategy. ‘In this project we have successfully overcome technical challenges’, said Engineering Manager Lightman Lu. ‘Together with our customer Stadler we developed HVAC systems that can withstand reliably temperatures as low as -50 °C and harsh weather conditions in a desert-like environment.’
On August 1 Hitachi Rail announced that it had completed the acquisition of Omnicom from Balfour Beatty. Omnicom’s software and hardware for surveying, inspecting and monitoring infrastructure assets including the overhead line and the track will help Hitachi Rail grow its HMAX digital asset management business and help customers optimise trackside maintenance. Omnicom will ‘benefit from the unique digital capabilities of the wider Hitachi Group, enabling us to continue to innovate and deliver AI-enabled systems that can optimise the management of railway infrastructure’, said Omnicom Managing Director Sanjay Razdan.
The US Railway Supply Institute has announced changes to its executive board following the death of former Chair Rob Oesch. Greg Dalpe, EVP Freight Car Services at Progress Rail becomes Chair, while Kate Suprenuk, President, Marmon Railcar Leasing, UTLX & Procor, will take his place as Vice-Chair. Justin Roberts, VP Corporate Finance & Treasurer at The Greenbrier Companies, will take on the duties of Treasurer that Dalpe was also handling prior to assuming the chairmanship.
Mitsubishi Electric is supplying traction systems for 60 Dubbeldekker Nieuwe Generatie EMUs that CAF is to build for Dutch national operator NS. Medcom is to provide the auxiliary power supply units.
John Thomas is to join the AllRail alliance of new entrants to the passenger market on September 8 as Policy Director. He has more than 30 years of experience in the development and implementation of rail policy, regulation and legislation in Europe, India, southeast Asia and the Middle East. He has worked as an independent consultant for MTR, a director of UK rail regulator ORR and at Etihad Rail. He was Policy Director at the Rail Delivery Group and Rail Partners in the UK.
Manufacturer Pesa Bydgoszcz has commissioned Alza Cargo to carry out certification testing of Elf 3 electric multiple-units being supplied to Łódźkie voivodship at the Żmigród test track.
Siemens and Siemens Mobility have been awarded Platinum in the 2025 EcoVadis Sustainability Rating which looks at Environment, Ethics, Labor & Human Rights, and Sustainable Procurement. This is ‘a strong testament to our leading position in the rail industry. It reflects our commitment to integrating sustainable solutions for our customers by maintaining rigorous sustainability standards across our operations and supply chain’, said Andreas Mehlhorn, Head of Sustainability at Siemens Mobility.
Indonesia’s state operator PT KAI is exploring collaboration with Polish companies in the fields of trams and hydrogen power. ‘Trams might be a viable option for development, and we see potential for collaboration’, PT KAI President Director Didiek Hartantyo said, adding that Bandung, Surabaya and Semarang could be well-suited to light rail networks.