Switzerland’s BAV regulatory body has granted approval for SBB Cargo to undertake automated freight train brake tests, which remove the need for manual inspection of wagon brake conditions before departure. ‘The automatic brake test is a very important step for SBB Cargo in making train preparation safer and faster. After eight years of intensive project work, we have for the first time fully digitised and automated an operating process. In doing so, we have gained important experience for the further digitalisation of railway freight traffic and we are also bringing this experience to the European project for digital automatic coupling’, said Jasmin Bigdon, Member of the Management Board of SBB Cargo, on November 30.
Union Pacific is to open an international intermodal terminal in Phoenix to support growing traffic between ocean ports in the Los Angeles Basin and the southwestern US. The terminal will be owned and operated by Union Pacific and is expected to open in Q1 2024. It will be located in the Class I’s existing Downtown rail yard, with capacity to grow to meet customer demand. ‘We are excited to offer regional shippers and receivers in Arizona a fast, sustainable rail option to move product into and out of Southern California that is cost competitive and removes trucks from our nation’s congested highways, with an ability to expand offerings and grow in the future’, said Kenny Rocker, Executive Vice President – Marketing & Sales at UP.
Polish locomotive leasing company Cargounit has taken delivery of two Siemens Vectron locos for use by German rolling motorway operator Helrom. It has also ordered two Siemens Smartron locomotives for use in Romania. The two Vectron MS locomotives delivered on November 27 are multi-system variants equipped with ETCS Baseline 3 onboard equipment. They will initially be deployed on Helrom services between Düsseldorf and Wien.
Leasing company Nordic Re-Finance has received authorisation for its first RC4 locomotive to operate in Sweden after being fitted with ETCS. The retrofitting has been undertaken in partnership with operator Green Cargo and Alstom, which has installed Ebicab Baseline 3.4 onboard equipment. Another seven RC4 locos are to be equipped by the summer of 2024.
Freight railway project promoter Inland Rail says it has salvaged 20 000 tonnes of steel from its recently completed Narrabri – North Star Phase 1 enhancement project to store for future use and for donation to local community groups across New South Wales and Queensland. Among the material being reused is steel from bridges dismantled as part of work to increase clearances for double-stack operation in the Melbourne – Brisbane corridor.
The last two of seven Stadler Euro4001 diesel locomotives for Uruguayan operator Portren were unloaded at the port of Montevideo on November 26; they are to be used to haul freight on the rebuilt Ferrocarril Central railway.
UK-based intermodal specialist Maritime Transport has agreed a three-year contract with supermarket chain Tesco to manage the rail operations at the retailer’s central distribution hubs at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal. Maritime will oversee the planning of seven daily rail services linking DIRFT with terminals in Mossend, Tilbury, Wentloog, Teesport, and Inverness, while also undertaking final-mile road operations to distribution centres and Tesco stores in Yorkshire, Middlesbrough, the Midlands, and London. Employees of Eddie Stobart Ltd who previously worked on Tesco’s rail operations at DIRFT have transferred to Maritime under TUPE employment regulations, Maritime said in a statement on November 27.