This week’s news from the global railway supply chain.
Indian Railways is testing the use of drones for train washing and cleaning. The drones are specially designed to carry high-pressure water spraying equipment. During trials they were able to clean 25 coaches in 30 min, compared to up to 3 h using traditional manual processes.
Topcon Positioning Systems and surveying technology supplier Amberg Technologies are to collaborate in the rail and tunnel sectors. ‘By working with Amberg Technologies, we are ensuring that our shared customers can connect Topcon’s positioning technologies with Amberg’s purpose-built rail and tunnel systems for truly comprehensive project workflows’, said Ivan Di Federico, President & CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems. ‘What the two companies can deliver in terms of innovations — combining our R&D efforts with their knowledge and existing experience — can be groundbreaking for these specialised markets.’
Stadler has commissioned a heat pump at its Bussnang headquarters which is expected to save 280 tonnes of CO₂ a year. The company says 40% of the buildings at the Bussnang site are heated with renewable energy, and 7% of total electricity consumption at the headquarters is covered by roof-mounted photovoltaic system. Stadler aims to reduce direct emissions by 50% by 2030 and become 100% climate neutral by 2050. ‘Sustainability doesn’t begin when the train starts running – it begins in production’, said Lucius Gerig, Head of the Switzerland Division.
Turnout manufacturer DT Výhybkárna has reported ‘strong results’ for the first nine months of the year, when it fulfilled ‘significant’ contracts for international clients, including in Germany and the UK. Recent highlights included producing technically demanding Abt rack turnouts for the Tanvald – Harrachov line and complex tramway crossings for Olomouc. DTVS is currently producing new turnouts to repair a damaged main line near Hustopeče nad Bečvou and, before the end of the year will supply turnouts to the VUZ Velim railway test circuit and the first section of the Brno – Kojetín – Přerov corridor which is being upgraded for speeds of up to 200 km/h.
Octopus Energy Generation and BayWa are to supply renewable electricity to SNCF Énergie under 25-year corporate power purchase agreements. The Greenberry and Fontenet 3 solar plants developed by BayWa and owned by Octopus Energy Generation are expected to generate over 100 GWh/year to power SNCF Voyageurs trains. Law firm Watson Farley & Williams advised Octopus and BayWa on the deal.
Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail signed a €295·5m EU Connecting Europe Facility grant agreement to finance works in the three countries during a meeting with the European Climate, Infrastructure & Environment Executive Agency in Vilnius on October 21-22.
Resource scheduling software company SISCOG has appointed Miguel Velosa Rodrigues as CEO. His career has spanned the rail, bus, road and aviation sectors, with an emphasis on software-driven optimisation and digital transformation. He headed Siemens’ Intelligent Traffic Systems business unit, which later became Yunex Traffic, and was Head of Digital at Vanderlande Logistics