CZECH rolling stock manufacturer Škoda Transportation has been sold to investment company PPF, Škoda’s parent company, Cyrpus-based CEIL, announced on November 25.

DOWNER EDI, Australia, announced on November 21 that it has reached an agreement to sell its Downer Freight Rail business unit to Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail in a deal worth $A 109m ($US 83m).

ALSTOM says it booked €3.2bn of orders between April 1 and September 30 in its half year financial results released on November 14 while sales grew by 5% to €3.8bn, a result which chairman and CEO Mr Henri Poupart-Lafarge says is a significant step towards the company’s objectives for 2020.

GENERAL Electric (GE) CEO Mr John Flannery announced on November 13 that the US conglomerate will sell its Transportation business along with its Industrial Solutions and Lighting activities within the next two years as it pursues a more focused strategy.

POLISH rolling stock manufacturer Pesa has secured a Zlotys 200m ($US 54.7m) loan from a consortium of six financial institutions led by PKO Bank Polski, which will enable the Bydgoszcz-based supplier to complete the restructuring of its business and maintain its liquidity until a strategic investor can be found.

THE chairman of Italy’s open-access high-speed rail operator NTV, Mr Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, has confirmed that the company will launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock exchange in 2018.

ACCORDING to a study conducted by SCI Verkehr, the €12.5bn market for railway products services in Germany is predicted to grow at an average of 3.4% per annum to reach €14.6bn by 2021, which is faster than the 2.3% annual global growth rate forecast by SCI last year.

US Class 1 railway CSX announced the replacement of three of its senior executives, and the cancellation of its October 30 investor day, on October 25 prompting a 3.82% drop in its share price to $US 50.92 in after-hours trading.

SOUTH African private locomotive repair and leasing company, Sheltam, has announced a rebranding and the launch of new rolling stock leasing and railway infrastructure investment subsidiaries.

THE global outlook for the railway industry remains positive according to the latest quarterly survey of senior managers from around 100 companies conducted by SCI Verkehr, which says its quarterly business index is now at 30, the highest since 2014.