On July 1 Utah Inland Port Authority, local businesses and government officials marked the official opening of the BZI Innovation Park and transport hub near Cedar City. Rail transloading serves are provided by RailSync.
Lineas has renewed the leases of Akiem-owned Alstom Prima BB27000, BB37000 and BB75000 locomotives until 2030, and is to increase the fleet from 32 to 39 locomotives. ‘We intend to provide Lineas with ever-improving service in terms of cost, reliability, flexibility and safety’, said Akiem CEO Fabien Rochefort on June 16.
Arc Infrastructure has reached a funding agreement with the Western Australia state government for the modernisation of Midland Railway tracks between Mingenew and Carnamah as part of the Agricultural Supply Chain Improvements programme. There is a A$45m commitment by the state and federal governments, and A$22m from Arc Infrastructure. Wood sleepers will be replaced by concrete and steel along 77 km of track, and 96 km of rail replaced with minimum 41 kg rail. This will increase the axleload from 16 to 19 tonnes. CBH Group is the sole customer on the line which is used throughout the year to transport grain to Geraldton Port. Construction is expected to commence in mid-2026.
Nurminen Logistics subsidiary North Rail has signed an extension of most of its transport contracts for 2026-29. It said the agreements correspond to the majority of its current transport volumes, enabling the stable development of the company’s business and preparing it for new international operations to drive future growth.
On June 20 Alsa announced that it had placed an order for seven more 120 km/h Stadler Euro 6000 locomotives to enter service in late 2025 and 2026.
Kazakhstan’s KTZ Express has launched a multimodal export shipment of industrial goods from Almaty to European Union countries via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. This uses specialised packaging an 40 ft containers, with the route via Aktau and Poti taking 25 to 30 days. Initial volumes are 20 to 50 TEU/month, with plans to scale up to 100 TEU. KTZ Express provides first-mile pickup, rail transport and sea transport across the Caspian and Black Seas, with parts of the maritime leg implemented in partnership with Maersk.
Breedon Group has renewed Freightliner’s contract to move cement from Hope Cement Works to distribution sites across the UK, including Dagenham, Theale, Dewsbury and Walsall. It has also awarded the operator a new five-year contract to move aggregates from multiple sites to various delivery points. Freightliner is using Class 70 locomotives to enable longer and heavier trains to operate, and repurposing a residual coal wagon fleet as aggregate box wagons in partnership with rolling stock engineering company WH Davis and leasing company Porterbrook.