Strainlabs’ IoT condition monitoring technology is being trialled to monitor the condition of magnets installed on the Øresund Bridge linking Denmark with Sweden.

INTERNATIONAL: Hitachi Rail has agreed to acquire Balfour Beatty’s rail asset monitoring technology business Omnicom. Hitachi said this would form a ‘key strategic pillar’ of the Hyper Mobility Asset Expert platform launched at InnoTrans 2024.

UK: Northern Trains has invited five manufacturers to negotiate for framework contracts to supply up to 450 new electric and electro-diesel bi-mode multiple-units.

CANADA: Montréal regional transport authority Exo has taken delivery of the first of 10 Charger locomotives being supplied by Siemens Mobility.

Indian Railways is already using Lidar-generated 3D mapping and exploring the use of geometry inspection systems to improve the safety of infrastructure maintenance. The next step envisages the use of Lidar to support automatic train operation, as Bharti Jain explains.

This week’s news from the global railway supply chain.

UK: Network Rail has awarded Unipart company Park Signalling a £3m contract to produce a design workstation to support Solid State Interlocking signalling systems.

SWITZERLAND: SBB Cargo has awarded Tatravagónka contracts to supply up to 840 wagons as part of its strategy to standardise its fleet.

CANADA: Greater Toronto area transport agency Metrolinx has awarded Alstom a C$500m framework agreement for the mid-life overhaul and modernisation of 181 BiLevel Series VIII coaches used on GO Transit services.

Kombud Group is developing a range of ETCS products to provide cost-effective interoperability on regional lines. Benjámin Zelki reports from the manufacturer’s newly opened plant in Radom.

More cities on the Chinese mainland have got direct rail links to and from Hong Kong under CR’s latest timetable, while the national rail network continues to grow with another flurry of year-end openings.

SWITZERLAND: Chemins de Fer du Jura has awarded Stadler Signalling a SFr4·3m contract to renew signalling systems at Tavannes and Orange by 2027.

UK: Southeastern has announced that a toilet is to be retrofitted to the Class 707 City Beam electric multiple-units used on London suburban services.

Regular inter-city passenger services have returned to Mexico with the launch of Alstom’s Tren Maya fleet across five states in the Yucatán Peninsula.

HUNGARY: Hungarian logistics company Waberer’s International signed an agreement on December 23 to acquire a 62·5% stake in Hungarian-Austrian rail freight company GySEV Cargo.

ASIA: Hassan Allam Construction has appointed Italian certification and engineering company RINA to provided system engineering and integration services for the Hafeet Rail project to build a 303 km mixed-traffic line linking the port of Sohar in Oman with Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

UK: Cordel has installed Lidar sensors on two Network Rail maintenance units to make accurate measurements of platforms which will help to maximise the opportunities for level boarding of Southeastern’s next generation of London suburban trains.

UK: Austrian railway construction and maintenance contractor Swietelsky has acquired locomotive hire, storage and maintenance company Harry Needle Railroad Co.

Set up by UIC and three national railways, the recently formed Open Rail Association is seeking to grow its membership to drive adoption of open source software in the rail market, as Swiss Federal Railways’ CIO Jochen Decker and Nicole Göbel, Chief Executive of Deutsche Bahn’s information technology arm ...

SAUDI ARABIA: The Royal Commission for AlUla and Saudi Railway Polytechnic have announced an agreement to boost the capabilities of young Saudis looking to launch a career in AlUla and in the country’s rail sector.