THAILAND: South Korean company LS Electric has awarded Hitachi Rail a contract to supply ETCS Level 1 trackside equipment as part its work to renew signalling and telecoms on two State Railway of Thailand main lines.

UK: Transport for London has selected the GTS Rail Operations Ltd joint venture of rail and bus operator Go-Ahead Group (65%), recently part-privatised operator Tokyo Metro (17·5%) and diverse Japanese business group Sumitomo Corp (17·5%) for the next concession to operate Elizabeth Line services.

UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is testing digital 3D maps designed to help passengers, and particularly those who are disabled, gain more confidence in navigating its stations.

PERU: Lima municipality is to launch a commuter train service on the railway between Callao on the Pacific coast and Chosica in the capital’s eastern suburbs in 2025, using a fleet of diesel locos and double-deck coaches withdrawn from service by California’s Caltrain.

UK: Rail Forum and the International Institute of Obsolescence Management have signed of a memorandum of understanding to bring experience from other sectors to rail.

SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways and its local subsidiaries Thurbo and RegionAlps have formally unveiled the first of the Stadler Flirt Evo electric multiple-units being supplied under a large framework order. The procurement is intended to standardise the regional train fleet to provide more efficient maintenance and operation.

Road transport provider CMAC has been working with Eurostar to provide taxi, bus and coach services, which enable the pan-European operator to manage disruption better and support pre- and post-shift travel for its traincrew.

RUSSIA: The first train has travelled the full 531 km length of the recently completed Pacific Railway from the Elga coking coal deposit to a port which is under construction at Cape Manorsky on the Sea of Okhotsk.

News from the world rail freight market.

UK: Leasing company Porterbrook has closed a £250m private placement which includes existing and new investors, extending its debt maturity profile at ‘attractive’ pricing and further diversifying its investor base of US, UK and Swiss institutions.

INDONESIA: Test running of a domestically developed, battery-powered, autonomous light rail vehicle began in Solo on November 6.

INTERNATIONAL: Air Canada is to offer people purchasing flights to Italy, Spain, the UK and South Korea the option to book onward rail and road coach connections.

USA: The Association of American Railroads has published Rail Jobs Report: The Value and Opportunities in Railroading to highlight career opportunities in rail freight.

UK: The rail regulator has approved co-operatively owned start-up Go-op’s plans to launch open access passenger train services between Swindon, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare.

AUSTRALIA: Establishing consistent national standards for the rail industry could save billions of dollars by supporting a more efficient, safer and productive industry, according to a new report.

IRELAND: Outgoing Transport Minister Eamon Ryan wished the team launching the Irish branch of Young Rail Professionals Ireland well via video link at a celebration in Dublin on November 7.

FINLAND: VR has agreed to sell its road logistics business to München-based private equity company Mutares as part of the national train operator’s strategy to focus on its core business of passenger and freight transport by rail.

ANGOLA: Lobito Atlantic Railway has taken delivery of the first of 275 container wagons ordered from Galison Manufacturing in South Africa.

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

EUROPE: Stadler says three ‘severe weather disasters’ in the last five months have had a ‘massive impact’ on its supply chain and forced the company to adjust its financial guidance. A new double-deck trainset was also lost to flooding.