Kazakhstan: Four TEM14 diesel shunting locomotives have been delivered to the Silkway Transit by Sinara Transport Machines (STM). They were delivered in June and will be used at the Dostyk-Alashankou border point. This is the busiest border crossing on the East-West transit corridor and through which the bulk of transit cargo moves under the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.
Poland: PKP Intercity is investing Zloty 44.8m ($US 11.68M) in the rebuilding of Kraków Główny Zachód depot to improve maintenance of the operator’s fleet. It’s expected trains will be out of traffic for less time because of improved working practices, while trains leaving Krakow each day will undergo comprehensive cleaning and preparation once the depot is finished. It’s expected the rebuilding will take up to 30 months.
France: Alstom will manufacture six six-car Coradia Polyvalent EMUs for the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region. The contract is worth around €47m and there is an option for a further two trains. Each train has 355 seats, fully accessible interiors, reclining seats with armrests, power sockets and coat hooks. They follow an order for 24 four-car EMUs and 16 six-car EMUs already ordered by the region. So far 24 have been delivered.
Poland: New diesel-electric hybrid Newag units have entered traffic with West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Two were delivered in January this year, and now the first of five that were ordered under an option last year has entered traffic. The overall order is worth Zloty 140m ($US 36.5m) The three-car trains can accommodate 302 passengers (150 of them seated). They have a 160km/h top speed in electric mode, while they run at up to 120km/h in diesel.
Russia: Tver Carriage Works has received a certificate of compliance for its new range of double-deck passenger coaches. The 61-4524 staff coach and 61-4523 compartment coaches are the latest developments from TMH. The difference between these and previous models is the introduction of a pneumatic body suspension system designed for smoother running. The coaches have 16 four-bed compartments and will be coupled together. One coach features coffee machines, vending machines and an area for large baggage. The staff coach has a fully accessible compartment for disabled passengers.
Sweden: EuroMaint Rail, a Swedish subsidiary of Spanish train builder CAF, has won two service contracts worth more than €100m with national operator SJ. The first is a 12-year contract to maintain the train fleet currently used on the Krösatågen and Kustpilen lines. SJ begins operating these lines from December, when EuroMaint’s deal also begins. CAF is building 20 new EMUs and eight biodiesel-electric bi-modes for these lines. These will operate alongside the existing fleet. The second contract is for the remodelling of 57 overnight passenger coaches. This will be carried out at the company’s Orebro facility and begins this month. The contract is due to be complete in February 2025.
Britain: Construction of the first Piccadilly Line Deep Tube trains for London Underground will begin this month at Siemens Mobility’s Vienna factory. Half of the 94 trains on order will be built in Austria, the rest in a new factory in Goole, England.
