Andalusia: The Andalusian regional government has received the first two LRVs for the under construction 12.5km light rail line connecting Montecarmelo, in Alcalá de Guadaíra, with Pablo de Olavide University and interchange with Seville Metro Line 1. A total of six Urbos 100 LRVs, worth more than €32.5m, were ordered from CAF in 2023 and all are due to be delivered this summer, ahead of the line opening later this year.
Austria: Stadler has opened a fleet maintenance facility in Obersiebenbrunn near Vienna. The new site, including a 225m-long main workshop, will also commission and test new Stadler rolling stock. Since March, Westbahn’s Smile trains have been maintained at the 4600m² facility, which is open to all operators of Stadler trains..
Baltic States: Stadler’s six-axle bi-mode Eurodual locomotive has been approved for operation in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. The locomotive combines electric and diesel traction, delivering up to 6.2MW in electric mode and 2.8MW in diesel mode.
Canada: Via Rail is to invest $C150m ($US 110m) in a major modernisation programme for its entire fleet of 56 Château and Manor sleeping cars. Work will be undertaken over the next five years by CAD Railway Industries in Lachine, Québec, and will include upgrades to systems and interiors, improving comfort, reliability, and onboard amenities for passengers travelling on Via Rail’s The Ocean and The Canadian long-distance services.
Croatia: Koncar has unveiled the first of six bi-mode multiple-units current under construction for Croatian Railways (HŽPP). Combining diesel and electric traction, the new fleet is being funded by a €57.3m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Delivery of the first train is expected at the end of July, and after commissioning the trains will enter service on the Zagreb - Split line. Last year HŽPP ordered a further five units to connect Osijek, Rijeka and Pula via Slovenia, which are due to be delivered next year.
Czech Republic: Czech Railways (ČD) is selling six surplus series 1216 Siemens Taurus locomotives, a multi-system design taking current at 3kV dc, 25kV 50Hz ac and 15kV 16.7Hz ac and approved for operation in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Hungary. Two locomotives are also approved in Poland and Slovenia. Eight series 380 Škoda multi-system locomotives are also for sale, with a further 10 expected to be released for sale this summer. No guide prices have been issued.
Europe: KfW Ipex bank has agreed a loan worth €100m to leasing company Railpool. The loan will be used to solely finance the acquisition of new locomotives that will primarily operate in Germany. The number of locomotives and the preferred suppliers have not been revealed.
Madrid: Stadler is carrying out final testing of the first five T100 and T200 EMUS that are to be delivered to Spanish national operator Renfe for commuter services in Madrid. They are due to enter service at the end of summer, following driver training. The 140km/h EMUs, ordered in two tranches in 2021 and 2022, are part of an eventual fleet of 79 EMUs worth €1.3bn. Stadler’s Albacete plant is due to deliver one unit to Renfe each month. The four-car T100 EMUs trains, which combine single and double-deck cars, can be lengthened to five-car T120s.
New Jersey: Alstom has delivered the first of 374 Multilevel III double-deck commuter coaches to New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit). The new 180km/h coaches will replace single‑level cars that have been in service for more than 40 years. The order includes power cars fitted with electric traction equipment and over 100 seats. They will be combined with other power cars, trailers and driving trailer cars, enabling train lengths to be adjusted to meet passenger demand.
Philadelphia: South Eastern Pennsylvania Transport Authority (Septa) has purchased 24 single-deck commuter coaches from Greater Montreal regional transport authority Exo for $US 8.85m to bolster its regional services. The coaches, built by Bombardier (now Alstom) in the late 1980s, will join Septa’s fleet of 50-year old Silverliner IV cars and will operate with existing ACS-64 electric locomotives. A delivery date has not yet been confirmed.
Portland: The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation in the United States has selected CAF to supply 15 new Urbos LRVs for Portland Streetcar services. The new vehicles will be battery hybrids to operate on a new non-electrified extension of the network at Montgomery Park that is due to open in 2030. Vehicle specifications, delivery timelines and costs have yet to be agreed. The new CAF fleet will also replace Portland’s original Škoda LRVs that have been in service since the network opened in 2001.
Switzerland: The Gornergrat Railway (GGB) in southern Switzerland has ordered four additional two-car 725V dc Polaris EMUs from Stadler that will operate on the rack line between Zermatt and Gornergrat. The 35m-long trains, worth around SFr 30m ($US 38m), will be delivered from autumn 2028. GGB placed an initial order for five trains in 2019, which entered service in 2022-23.
Tampa Airport: Four of 16 Innovia R automated people mover (APM) vehicles ordered from Alstom have entered service at Tampa International Airport (TPA). By the end of this year, the APM lines to three of the airport’s four concourses will be equipped with new vehicles and a new signalling system. Alstom is also supplying the guideway, signalling system and vehicles for a new line serving the future D concourse, which is expected to open in 2028.
Zurich: The Sihltal Zurich Uetliberg Railway (SZU) in Switzerland has procured a MultiCrafter 12.5 E³ C/I track machine from Plasser & Theurer for infrastructure maintenance and construction tasks. SZU operates Zurich Transport Network’s S4 and S10 commuter lines. The value of the purchase has not been disclosed.
