5G roll out to begin on South Western Railway 04 Mar 2019 UK: FirstGroup has announced that its Rail Division will be the exclusive supplier of Blu Wireless’s 5G communications for ontrain connectivity. This follows a 2½ year development programme undertaken with Network Rail, the Department for Transport and the Department for Culture Media &…
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SICK introduces high performance inspection camera 03 Mar 2019 CAMERA: SICK has launched the Range3 high-definition streaming camera for use with rolling stock and track inspection systems. According to the manufacturer, the CMOS sensor provides high-speed image processing in a compact device capable of capturing 7 000 profiles/sec. This enables the 3D shape of an…
TÜV Süd acquires SNC-Lavalin’s instrumented wheelset technology 28 Feb 2019 EUROPE: TÜV Süd announced the acquisition of SNC-Lavalin’s IWT4 instrumented wheelset technology business on February 27, saying this would strengthen its position as a one-stop-shop for the independent assessment, testing and approval of rolling stock. The IWT4 instrumentation is applied to the wheelset without any…
Custom announcements to create an audio brand for DB stations 27 Feb 2019 GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Station&Service has appointed Acapela Group to create digital public address announcements for use at its 5 400 stations. Acapela said the German-language announcements would be custom-made to provide a ‘pleasant unique voice experience’, with an audio brand…
Rail News Home Mechanical 2/26/2019 Rail News: Mechanical UE announces strike at former GE locomotive plant in Pennsylvania UE signs used during an informational picket held last week. Photo – UE's Facebook page United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) announced this morning they've gone on strike at the former GE Transportation locomotive…
Alexa skill enables passengers to book travel assistance 26 Feb 2019 UK: Virgin Trains has launched a ‘skill’ for Amazon Alexa virtual assistants which enables passengers with disabilities to book assistance for their journey using simple voice commands. The JourneyCare service usually requires users to fill in an online form or call a helpline after…
Digital technology aims to improve rail accessibility 25 Feb 2019 ACCESSIBILITY: The TOC Ability consortium has published a report into the use of digital technology to improve the accessibility of the UK rail network by enabling disabled passengers to share their journey requirements with train operators while protecting their privacy. The consortium comprises Atkins, Arriva,…
SBB joins openETCS Foundation 25 Feb 2019 EUROPE: Swiss Federal Railways has become the 18th member of the openETCS Foundation, which provides a platform to exchange experience and jointly initiate train control and automation projects using open source software and open innovation concepts. Other members include railway operators such as DB, NS and SNCF, plus…
Rail News Home Mechanical 2/22/2019 Rail News: Mechanical Rail supplier news from Wabtec, BBM Railway, Trinity, SightLogix, Alstom and Shimmick (Feb. 22) Wabtec Corp. will replace Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in the S&P 500 and Goodyear will replace Wabtec in the S&P MidCap 400 prior to the open of stock trading on Feb. 27.…
Rail News Home Mechanical 2/21/2019 Rail News: Mechanical Metra begins replacing aging fleet with $71 million purchase contract Metra's board announced yesterday it approved a $70.9 million contract to purchase 15 remanufactured locomotives. The contract with Progress Rail calls for reconfiguring the EMD SD70MAC freight locomotives for passenger use, and refurbish or upgrade all components…