Industry Insider Week 20 – 12 Must-Read Rail Stories

All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider Week 20 for 13–17 May 2019:

Rendering of Siemens Mobility’s Velaro Novo high-speed train © www.siemens.com/press

Rolling Stock

Alstom Coradia Polyvalent in France © Markus Eigenheer under licence

Five Additional Coradia Polyvalent Trains for Région Sud

The French Région Sud in the southeast of the country has been running 10 Coradia Polyvalent (Régiolis) trains since 2015. It has now purchased a further 5 Coradia Polyvalent trains from the French rolling stock manufacturer, Alstom. These trains (in their regional version) are expected to be delivered between late 2020 and early 2021. The total order value is 32 million euros (36 million USD).

Alstom Presents Hydrogen Breeze Train Model at Railtex

This year at Railtex Alstom exhibited a to-scale prototype of their hydrogen train for the UK market – the Breeze train. Alstom has worked in partnership with Eversholt Rail to design a hydrogen trains that could be distributed across the UK by 2022. Decarbonisation is a huge topic within the rail industry right now. Hydrogen technology is very environmentally friendly as it only produces water emissions.

Siemens Mobility’s Velaro Novo at Railtex 2019 © Railway-News

Siemens Presents Velaro Novo Train at Railtex

Siemens Mobility showcased its latest high-speed offering, the Velaro Nova, at Railtex. This advanced model possesses excellent statistics such as being able to run at a speed of 360km/h whilst simultaneously using 30 percent less energy than previous designs. The new Velaro also saves 1,375 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Siemens first revealed the original Velaro train last year at Birmingham New Street.

Hitachi Azuma Enters Service for LNER

Hitachi began constructing the Azuma trains for LNER (Class 800) back in August 2018. The cutting-edge rolling stock is manufactured at their site in Newton Aycliffe and the first units have now been put into service as of 15 May on the East Coast Main Line. The fleet of 45 trains is running between London and Leeds with a further 20 trains entering service over the coming months, which will bring the overall fleet to 65 trains.

Events

Talgo Stand at Railtex 2019 © Railway-News

Today at Railtex: Day 1 – 14 May 2019

During the first day of Railtex, 14 May 2019, industry discussions took place such as ‘How Can We Digitise the Journey to Benefit the Customer’, ‘The Shape of Things to Come’ and more. With over 400 exhibitors from 22 countries, Railtex showcases all aspects of the rail industry from locomotives to sleepers to tunnel equipment. For a more in-depth read on some of the Railtex 2019 exhibitors and other suppliers view our digital Railtex Magazine.

Today at Railtex: Day 2 – 15 May 2019

Interesting industry events continued during Day 2 of Railtex, 15 May. The main focus of attention was the Future Focus Conference, conducted by the Rail Industry Association (RIA). During the conference various panel discussions with senior industry professionals took place. There were also Q&A sessions regarding significant infrastructure projects and important topics such as decarbonisation.

Wabtec Stand, Railtex 2019 © Railway-News

Today at Railtex: Day 3 – 16 May 2019

The lecture on the ability of hydrogen-powered trains to make diesel redundant was a highlight on the last day of Railtex, 16 May. The lecture commenced at 12:30 pm in the Seminar Theatre and was given by Mike Muldoon, Head of Business Development and Marketing for Alstom. In total, 12 events took place during the final day of the show with topics such as ‘Getting Ready for HS2’ and more.

TCCA’s 21st CCW Event Set to Bring the Critical Communications World Together in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia’s Sapura Group is hosting its leading conference and exhibition, Critical Communications World (CCW) in Kuala Lumpur on 18–20 June. The three-day event will be held at the Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre and will consist of various keynote speaker sessions, masterclasses, and conversations with industry specialists. CCW will also be running the International Critical Communications Awards to award industry innovators.

Mark Lomas from HS2 discusses equality and diversity in rail at Railtex

Diversity in the Rail Sector – A Vital Investment

Allianz pro Schiene, a German railway body, hosted its ‘MINTeinander im digitalen Wandel – Mobilität braucht Frauen’ conference on 8 and 9 May. The intention of the conference was to promote diversity within the rail sector, in particular, increasing the number of women within the industry. This aspect was also a talking point at Railtex, with Mark Lomas from HS2 discussing the importance and economic sense of more diverse hiring.

Comment

RIA at Railtex: Bringing the Rail Industry Together

Since the initial commencement of Railtex, the Rail Industry Association (RIA) has been a valued associate. This year RIA co-ordinated numerous events across the 3-day show to allow the rail community to make beneficial relationships, attract new clients, exhibit their capabilities and introduce new products. The highlight for this year’s was the Future Focus Conference, overseen by RIA.

Science and Technology

SBB Cargo Launches Autocouplers

At the end of last year, SBB Cargo converted 100 freight wagons and 25 locomotives for multimodal travel. Some of these have been fitted with autocouplers since the beginning of May. The Swiss government has funded this technology in hopes of modernising rail freight by working towards partial automation of last mile operations. In order to revamp the rest of the SBB Cargo fleet with autocouplers it will cost an estimated 15 million Swiss francs (13.31 million euros / 14.88 million USD).

Infrastructure

Network Rail Announces CP6 Rail Haulage and Seasonal Services Contracts

Network Rail has awarded rail haulage and seasonal services contracts for Control Period 6. The combined contracts are worth £800 million. Features such as network, bulk ballast and possession engineering trains are included in the rail haulage contracts whilst duties such as weed spray and autumn/winter multipurpose services are covered in the seasonal services contracts.