Thales and Siemens on Tuesday announced they have been awarded a contract to provide a permanent communications-based train control (CBTC) test track facility for Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT).
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood toured the Siemens Mobility plan in South Sacrmento, Calif., on Wednesday, extolling it as an example of how U.S. workers can provide quality manufactured goods.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, along with representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration, will join representatives from original equipment manufacturers Alstom, Bombardier, Electro-Motive Diesel, GE, NipponSharyo, Siemens, Talgo, and Wabtec at a one-day seminar in Sacramento Wednesday. The event is described as a “forum to connect rail industry OEMs with U.S. suppliers in the manufacturing sector.”
In June 2009, Amtrak called for proposals for up to 70 new electric locomotives. The key requirements were conformity to all FRA regulations, Buy America compliance, acceleration capability to avoid impacting Acela Express high speed train schedules, and the capability to haul 18 single level Amfleet coaches at a sustained speed of 125 mph.
Another New York Metropolitan Area transit agency has embarked on resignaling its rail rapid transit system with CBTC (communications-based train control), with Siemens as the prime supplier.
Siemens Transportation Systems has delivered the first two of nine light rail transit cars to Hampton Roads Transit, as the agency prepares to launch “The Tide” light rail service along its 7.4-mile starter line in Norfolk, Va., roughly one year from now.
Light rail riders throughout Portland’s TriMet system last weekend began boarding the agency’s new Type 4 cars, built by SiemensTransportation Systems, Inc., as the agency put the first of 22 Type 4s into revenue service.
Britain’s Department of Transport announced Thursday that it has selected Agility Trains, a British-led group that includes Hitachi of Japan, as the preferred bidder for a $10.7 billion contract to build and maintain a fleet of new Super Express trains for the Great Western and East Coast main lines. John Laing and Barclays are also members of the winning consortium.