CANADA: VIA Rail Canada has issued a requests for qualification for a contract to supply more than 40 locomotives and 313 coaches of nine types to replace its Long-Distance, Regional & Remote train fleet.

BRAZIL: The Brazilian Northeast Development Fund (Fundo de Desenvolvimento do Nordeste) has agreed to lend R$3∙6bn to help finance construction of the Ferrovia Transnordestina project.

USA: Southern California Regional Rail Authority has awarded Alstom a combined Train Operation & Maintenance Services contract for its Metrolink passenger rail services.

FRANCE: Hamburg Commercial Bank has acted as mandated lead arranger for the financing of 12 Alstom Avelia Horizon high speed trains ordered by new market entrant Proxima.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽ has opened a 316 m long reinforced concrete bridge over the Orlík reservoir near Červená nad Vltavou on the Tábor – Písek line.

UK: Swiss electrification firm Furrer+Frey has chosen Nottingham as the base for its expanding UK operations, saying it will bring highly skilled engineering jobs to the East Midlands.

HUNGARY: State railway group MÁV-Volán has signed a long-term agreement to lease a further 13 diesel locomotives formerly owned by Denmark’s DSB from Swedish leasing company Nordic Re-Finance. They will be used by MÁV-Start and MÁV Rail Tours.

News from the world rail freight market.

BRAZIL: ENSCO Rail has deployed its Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System on the metre gauge Vitória a Minas iron ore railway operated by mining company Vale.

EUROPE: A digital tool which aims to streamline the freight locomotive leasing business by matching operators’ demand with leasing companies’ availability has gone live.

UK: FirstGroup is to expand its open access fleet with an order for 14 Class 80X trainsets from Hitachi Rail.

BRAZIL: Following a series of technical site visits in November representatives of national land transportation agency ANTT announced that they expected the Ferrovia de Integraçao Centro-Oeste (Central West Integration Railway) project to be 32% complete by the end of 2024.

CAMBODIA: Railway concessionaire Royal Railway has taken delivery of additional locomotives and wagons, and has put into service a fleet of diesel multiple-units acquired from Japan.

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

GERMANY: Hamburg U-Bahn operator Hamburger Hochbahn has awarded GBM Gleisbaumechanik Brandenburg a contract to supply up to 15 custom-designed wagons for engineering trains.

UK: DB Cargo UK has officially opened an ETCS training centre at its Doncaster headquarters. There is a Class 66 full cab simulator as well as six ultra-light simulators, two instructor stations, training rooms, a breakout area, study rooms and kitchen.

CANADA: Hitachi Rail is investing C$100m to develop the next generation of SelTrac Communication-Based Train Control signalling technology at its facility in Toronto.

UK: FirstGroup has bought Grand Union Trains GWML Holdings Ltd, which holds track access rights to launch an open access passenger service between London and Carmarthen.

EGYPT: Plasser & Theurer has signed a contract to supply a fleet of track maintenance machines to Egyptian National Railways.

UK: Train drivers’ union ASLEF has launched a campaign demanding access to safe, clean, accessible and dignified toilets for drivers. It has published a report into the current situation which Executive Committee President Dave Calfe said is an occupational safety, public health and human rights issue that cannot be solved ...