This week’s news from the global railway supply chain.
FS Group and Italian civil aviation authority ENAC have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the use of beyond visual line of sight drone flights for infrastructure monitoring.
OKI and Turkish infrastructure manager TCDD are to conduct proof of concept testing of the Japanese company’s Zero Energy IoT Series sensors to provide notifications of emergencies such as landslides, sinkholes and floods on the rail network, with verification of risk predictions using satellite data. The sensors, which do not require external power, have been installed in many places in Japan. ‘The development of technology-based, real-time monitoring systems is considered essential to ensure the safety and reliability of railway infrastructure’, said TCDD. ’The high-quality equipment developed by OKI appears to meet TCDD’s technical requirements.’
The Australasian Railway Association has launched a Rail Gender Equity Charter, with 40 organisations making a commitment to foster an inclusive, respectful and equitable workplace for everyone in rail. This builds on the recommendations of ARA’s 2024 Progressing Gender Equality in the Australasian Rail Industry report and outlines five commitments to support progress in the industry.
Isabel Vollers took over as Managing Director & Country Director at Hitachi Rail in Germany on October 1, succeeding Markus Fritz, who has taken a role within Hitachi Group as Vice-President Markets Germany & Global Account Manager Deutsche Bahn for all Hitachi business units. Vollers was previously responsible for Alstom’s Mainline Wayside & Infrastructure business in the DACH region.
The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport has launched a CILT International Global Rail Group to bring together rail professionals from across the world to share knowledge. Membership is free and open to professionals working within the rail industry, across the broad ecosystem of roles and expertise. CILT membership is encouraged but not required.
Accenture has joined the Executive Committee of the US High Speed Rail Association. ‘Accenture brings extensive project management and finance experience for mega-projects to our large group of top experts’, said USHSR President Andy Kunz.
On September 29 Moody’s affirmed Eurofima‘s long-term issuer rating of Aa2 with a stable outlook. This reflects Eurofima’s asset quality and performance, supported by systematic credit protections, robust liquidity and funding profile and the highly ability of shareholders to support it. The stable outlook primarily reflects Moody’s expectation that Eurofima’s leverage ratio will remain stable over the coming years, while it expects its other credit fundamentals to remain well anchored.