Australia: The NSW government has awarded the RailConnect consortium of Hyundai Rotem, Mitsubishi Electric Australia and UGL Rail a A$130m contract to supply a further 42 double-deck EMUs cars, taking its New Intercity Fleet order to a total of 554 vehicles. This will enable peak services on the South Coast Line to be increased from eight to 10 cars.
TasRail has awarded CRRC Qishuyan a contract to supply 1 067 mm gauge cement hopper wagons.
Austria: ÖBB has exercised an option for Siemens Mobility to supply a further 61 Vectron MS locomotives, taking its total order to 108. They are scheduled to be be delivered to Rail Cargo Group from March 2020.
ÖBB’s passenger business has awarded Siemens Mobility a firm contract to supply a further 24 Cityjet three-car Desiro ML EMUs for use in Wien, Niederösterreich and Burgenland from mid-2020. The 160 km/h EMUs are designed to be retrofitted with batteries for future use on non-electrified lines.
Bangladesh: BR has awarded Hyundai Rotem a US$80m contract to supply 20 100 km/h metre-gauge diesel-electric locomotives from 2021. The latest order follows on from a 41bn won contract for 10 locomotives which was signed last May, and a US$239m order for a further 70 locos agreed in October.
Bulgaria: Sofia metro operator Metropoliten EAD has ordered a further 10 three-car Inspiro metro trainsets from a consortium of Newag and Siemens Mobility.
Canada: Alberta’s provincial government has signed agreements with Canadian National and Canadian Pacific to lease 4?400 DOT 117J and retrofitted DOT 117R tank wagons to move oil sands crude to clear a glut that has depressed prices.
China: CRRC Tangshan has completed pre-delivery testing of a variable configuration EMU formed of two power cars and up to 16 single or double-deck coaches, which could have freight compartments on the lower level. The variable configuration is designed to enable operators to adjust train lengths in response to changes in passenger demand, unlike current trainsets which are in fixed-formation eight or 16-car sets.
Congo: RRC Qiqihar has supplied two 100 tonne capacity 1?067 mm gauge cranes to Chemin de fer Congo-Océan, which will use them for both lifting heavy freight and accident recovery.
Europe: TX Logistik is to lease three Siemens Smartron electric locos from Paribus Holding‘s leasing company Northrail, which placed a framework contract for up to 25 in December funded by RIVE Private Investment.
Socofer is building 19 battery works train locos to replace Eurotunnel’s diesel fleet. Aegis Engineering will support the approvals process, with the first expected to be ready for use from 2020.
India: Bengaluru Metro has ordered a further seven six-car trainsets from BEML at a cost of Rs4bn.
Italy: On March 8 FS Group’s freight business Mercitalia Rail took delivery of the first of 40 Class E494 Traxx DC3 electric locomotives which Bombardier Transportation is producing under a €400m contract awarded in December 2017. The manufacturer will undertake maintenance for eight years, and Mercitalia has an option to order a further 20 locos at a cost of €180m.
Kenya: KRC is to buy 11 CAF Class 61 DMUs from SFM in Mallorca for €13·4m. The metre-gauge DMUs dating from 1994-2003 are to be used on commuter services in Nairobi.
Latvia: Škoda Vagonka has replaced Talgo as the preferred bidder for a contract to supply 32 EMUs, national passenger operator PV announced on February 15. Talgo had been named preferred bidder in November, but CAF and Škoda Vagonka appealed to procurement monitoring agency IUB, which blocked the contract award.
Nigeria: China Civil Engineering Construction Corp has awarded CRRC Qishuyan a contract to supply four NDJ3N diesel multiple-units, two DF7GN shunting locomotives, six DF11GN passenger locomotives and nine DF8BN freight locomotives. The first batch of 10 of the 1?435 mm gauge diesel locomotives is scheduled to be delivered in October.
Poland: Freight operator Lotos Kolej has awarded Newag an 80m zloty contract to supply three six-axle Dragon 2 electric locos and two four-axle Griffin locos by the end of May, and to provide seven years of maintenance. The Griffins will be equipped with last mile diesel powerpacks.
Russia: RM Rail has obtained certification for a modified version of its Type 19-1241 hopper car designed for transporting hot sinter, pellets and other bulk cargo. It has a 23·5 tonne axleload and capacity of 69 tonnes or 45 m3.
The first platskartny coach to be modernised by Vagonremmash re-entered service on March 18. It retains the traditional semi-open layout, but curtains have been added to increase privacy and the berths now have power sockets. The coach is fully air-conditioned, and the toilets have a shower, baby changing table and built-in hair dryer.
Central Suburban Passenger Co has awarded TMH Demikhovsky a contract to supply 21 11-car EP2D EMUs, financed by Sberbank Leasing.
Serbia: Srbija Kargo has taken delivery of the first two of 16 Siemens Vectron locomotives it has ordered in two batches with financing from EBRD.
Infrastruktura Železnice Srbije has ordered two CZ Loko EffiShunter 300 locos with 328 kW CAT C13 engines.
Switzerland: CRRC Shandong has begun supplying 50 container flat wagons to Hupac under a contract awarded last year. The manufacturer is responsible for obtaining TSI certification. CRRC said it has now exported more than 500 wagons to France, Germany, the UK and Poland.
UK: The first Porterbrook Class 323 EMU to be refurbished by Gemini Rail has re-entered service with West Midlands Trains. The project includes upgraded information screens, new seat covers and an accessible toilet.
Northern has returned to service the first Class 333 EMU to be refurbished by Chrysalis Rail with a new livery, LED lighting and refreshed interiors with seats refurbished by Diamond Seating.
USA: CAI International has agreed to sell 2 146 wagons, 30% of its North American lease fleet, for $200m. The sale of 1 946 wagons was completed on February 26, realising a gain of $7m, while the remaining 200 wagons are currently being manufactured and will be sold in Q2 2019. ‘We have focused on the sale of rail equipment in order to redeploy capital to other investments’, said President & CEO Victor Garcia.
Chicago’s Metra has awarded Progress Rail a $70·9m contract to supply 15 rebuilt EMD SD70MAC freight locomotives, with options for up to 27 more. They will be designated as SD70MACH, with all components refurbished, upgraded or new. They will comply with EPA Tier 3 emissions standards, and are expected to offer lower operating costs than the current fleet.
