Canada: Class B shares in Bombardier Inc began trading on Germany’s Frankfurt - am - Main stock exchange on September 3. The shares are also traded in Montréal, Toronto and Brussels.
Finland: Under the restructuring of the Transtech rolling stock business, Rautaruukki has sold its Taivalkoski works to Telatek Oy.
Great Britain: Pandrol Rail Fastenings has reported a record turnover of £54·5m for the six months to June 30, up 25·9% from the same period last year. Operating profit was up 15·8%.
Parsons Brinckerhoff of the USA has acquired Kennedy & Donkin Group Ltd.
International: RoadRailer Mercosul has been formed by Wabash National Corp of the USA and Interferrea Logistica SA of Brazil to manufacture and market RoadRailer equipment in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Interferrea has ordered over 200 RoadRailer trailers and bogies from RRM for a São Paulo - Rio de Janeiro service.
Mexico: The government invited bids on August 18 for FNM’s Aguascalientes workshops, Mexico’s largest maintenance facility with capacity to overhaul up to 200 wagons a month.
Westinghouse Air Brake Co and MotivePower Industries have expanded their San Luis Potosi joint venture, WABCO/MPI de Mexico, to repair and maintain Pulse Railway Electronics equipment.
Netherlands: Den Haag timber group Ressenaar has acquired a 40% stake in Railpro’s timber sleeper impregnation plant at Dordrecht, with a further 20% purchased by GfG of Germany.
Russia: The Kuznetsk Metallurgical Combine, a producer of rail and rolled steel products, was declared insolvent on August 11.
USA: VMV Enterprises is to assemble diesel locos for export under contract to General Motors at its Paducah, Kentucky, works.
Westinghouse Air Brake Co has agreed to purchase Rockwell Railroad Electronics from Rockwell Collins Inc for $80m. The sale includes braking systems supplier Technical Service & Marketing.
Progress Rail Services Corp has acquired United Industries Corp which repairs wagons at Louisville, Kentucky, and Charlestown, Indiana. Progress has also bought the loco, transit products and services operations of Viking Engineering Co Inc in Chicago. On September 3 Progress announced that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets and operations of track maintenance equipment supplier Kershaw Manufacturing Co Inc.
CAPTION: Australian rolling stock supplier A Goninan & Co is to refurbish all 95 trainsets for Hong Kong MTR Corp’s Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Island lines. MTR Operations Director Phil Gaffney (right) handed over the first train to Goninan’s Group General Manager (Engineering) Chris Huggins at Tsuen Wan depot on August 24. It is due back into service at the end of this year, with the other units following at three or four a month until early 2002
Infrastructure In Brief
Railtrack has awarded GTRM a £5m contract to renew the northwest approaches to Birmingham New Street station. Work to be undertaken during a nine-day possession over the Christmas holiday period includes track renewal and alterations to signalling, catenary and telecommunications equipment.
Racal Telecom has been awarded a £2·85m contract to upgrade trackside telecommunications at Railtrack’s London Bridge and Victoria stations. Due for completion early in 1999, the project includes installation of a PBX-based switch concentrator to receive and route calls from trackside telephones.
