January, 2024 – Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, signed a contract of more than €500 million with The Royal Commission for AlUla’s pioneering battery-powered tramway, the world’s longest catenary-free line.
The fully integrated Alstom tramway system will feature 20 state-of-the-art Citadis B battery-trams. The 22.4km line will encapsulate richness, history, and green mobility like no other, linking 17 strategically located stations, offering unmatched access to AlUla’s five core historical districts, including UNESCO World Heritage sites such as AlUla Old Town (District 1), Dadan (District 2), Jabal Ikmah (District 3), Nabataean Horizon (District 4), and Hegra Historical City (District 5).
This ambitious project aims to deliver unique transit options for residents and tourists, with innovative, climate-adapted trams.
Alstom plays a pivotal role in this project, from comprehensive system design to integration, installation and testing and commissioning of the catenary-free and battery-powered tramway. Alstom will also deliver power supply, signalling, communication, and depot equipment and provide full maintenance for the trams for 10 years, using HealthHub, Alstom’s tool for predictive maintenance and fleet management to deliver the highest availability. The services teams will also use an itinerant workshop for all types of overhauls to be more flexible and reduce capital expenditure, and provide robust training programmes for tram personnel, ensuring operational efficiency. The project will draw on Alstom’s global in-house expertise in integrated railway systems. The trams will be manufactured across Alstom’s French production sites, including La Rochelle for both design and construction.
Swiss International Air Lines AG, the flag carrier of Switzerland and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group (Xetra: LHAG), and SBB is expanding the Air Rail route network and adding Geneva Airport. Swiss passengers traveling via Lausanne, Freiburg or Bern train stations now have the choice between connecting to Zurich Airport or Geneva Airport. You can now book and use the new connection to or from Geneva Airport. For example, you can travel directly and comfortably from New York via Geneva to Lausanne, Freiburg or Bern. In addition, both companies are taking another important step in the technical integration of their system landscapes and will in the future provide Swiss Tickets with an SBB QR code. The aim is to improve boarding pass control and customer service. Since establishing their strategic partnership in October 2019, Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) and the Swiss Federal Railways SBB have been continuously working to expand their joint service and product portfolio.
Travel comfortably with Swiss Air Rail
With this further step in the expansion of the intermodal offering, the Swiss Air Rail network now includes two airport stations and a total of 11 destinations. These include Geneva (main station), Freiburg, Bern, Interlaken, Lausanne, Lucerne, Lugano, Bellinzona and Basel in Switzerland as well as Munich in Germany and Bregenz in Austria. As with all Swiss Air Rail destinations, customers also benefit from the option of booking the entire trip in one step for connections to/from Geneva Airport. The train ticket is included in the Swiss flight price and can be booked online and at any travel agency. Passengers only need to check in once and receive all boarding passes directly from Swiss.
Santo Domingo, August 23, 2021– Alstom will manufacture, supply and commission eight (8) new three-car Metropolis trainsets for Line 1 of the Santo Domingo Metro serving the capital of the Dominican Republic. The international public tender, managed by the Oficina Para el Reordenamiento del Transporte (OPRET), and financed by the Agence française de développement, is a priority project for infrastructure development in Santo Domingo and to increase the transportation capacity of the country’s capital city.
Line 1 of the Santo Domingo metro, conceived to improve mobility in the north-centre-south city corridor, serves 16 stations across 14.5 kilometres. The new trains that Alstom is supplying will be able to operate in multiple units, coupled with each other or with the trains of the fleet previously acquired by OPRET, allowing capacity to be adapted to demand: 6-car configurations at peak times and 3-car configurations at off-peak times.
The new trains will have the same features, functionalities and characteristics of the Metropolis trains that currently operate in the Santo Domingo Metro, such as wide doors, wide corridors and a low floor for an optimal flow of passengers. In addition, the new trainsets will have additional features and technological improvements to enhance the passenger experience and optimize operations and availability, including LED lighting in the passenger area, Wi-Fi connection for the uploading of multimedia files and data transmission to the control unit, as well as improvements in the passenger information and alert system, train control and self-diagnosis systems.
The new trains will be manufactured at Alstom’s plant in Santa Perpetua, Barcelona, Spain, and the first two trains will arrive at the port of Santo Domingo approximately 18 months from the signing of the contract. These new trains will join the 25 Metropolis trains that Alstom previously supplied to Santo Domingo Metro for Line 1 and the 21 Metropolis trains supplied for Line2, since 2009, for a total of 138 cars.
Globally, more than 6,000 Metropolis cars have been sold across the globe, including to cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Chennai, Montreal, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Lima and Santiago de Chile.
ADAC Luftrettung, one of Europe’s biggest Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) operators, has taken delivery of its first two five-bladed H145s. Furthermore, the German HEMS operator will upgrade its current fleet of 14 four-bladed H145s to the five-bladed rotor system.
ADAC Luftrettung operates more than 50 Airbus helicopters from their 37 stations throughout Germany. In June, an ADAC H145 was the first HEMS helicopter to fly with sustainable aviation fuel.
The new version of Airbus’ best-selling H145 light twin-engine helicopter was unveiled at Heli-Expo 2019 in Atlanta. This latest upgrade adds a new, innovative five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission H145, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150 kg. The simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design will also ease maintenance operations, further improving the benchmark serviceability and reliability of the H145, while improving ride comfort for both passengers and crew. The helicopter’s high-mounted tail boom and wide opening clam-shell doors facilitate access to the H145’s spacious cabin.
Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite. It includes a high performance 4-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class.
Today, Airbus has more than 1,470 H145 family helicopters in service around the world, logging a total of more than six million flight hours. For HEMS alone, there are more than 470 helicopters of the H145 family conducting air rescue missions worldwide.
KiwiRail and Auckland Transport are already making changes to address issues raised by a report into track damage through Rolling Contact Fatigue that led to widespread speed restrictions across the Auckland rail network.
The Auckland RCF Working Group Root Cause Assessment Report, prepared for KiwiRail and Auckland Transport, identified multiple causes, with historic underinvestment in Auckland’s rail track infrastructure identified as one of the key factors. The report also pointed to insufficient rail grinding, poor underlying track condition, the design of the EMU trains and the wheel rail interface. Auckland’s climate is also another likely contributor.
KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer Todd Moyle acknowledged the report’s findings, and said work was already well advanced to implement recommendations made in the report.
Todd Moyle says that 130km of rail was replaced in just seven months and KiwiRail is now working through the second phase to repair the more complex sections of track.
The track remediation work is part of a $1.5 billion programme of work to modernise and improve the Auckland metro rail network. Other projects include the ‘third main’ project to ease congestion and allow for extra services on the busiest part of the network between Westfield and Wiri, the extension of electrification to Pukekohe, and three new stations at Drury and Paerata. When complete, Auckland commuters and freight customers will enjoy a more resilient and reliable network.
WASHINGTON – Amtrak announced today the expansion of its pet program allowing customers to travel with their dogs and cats up to 20 pounds onboard weekday Acela trains for only $26 or 800 Amtrak Guest Rewards points. Previously available for only weekend trips, there will be eight pet spaces for sale per departure (one per customer) and are booked on a first-come, first-served basis.
Pets will be allowed in all cars, except for First Class or Café cars. Pets must remain in a carrier at all times and carriers should remain under their seat. Amtrak continues to welcome service animals on board at no charge. To confirm pet eligibility, all customers must read and sign a Pet Release and Indemnification Agreementfor each travel segment.
This new amenity is part of several recent upgrades on the Acela, including the expansion of the Reserved Seating offering for Acela Business Class customers, which allows travelers to view and select their seats before traveling, including those available in the Quiet Car, and provide a snapshot of the overall of the train’s capacity. In addition, Amtrak has continues its enhanced cleaning protocols at stations and on trains and new measures to deliver a New Standard of Travel, including:
Requiring face coverings: Per federal law and Amtrak policy, all customers and employees must wear a face mask or covering that fully covers the entire mouth and nose, fits snugly against the side of the face, and secures under the chin at all times while onboard and in stations.
Air Quality: All of our trains are equipped with onboard filtration systems with a fresh air exchange rate every 4-5 minutes.
Physical distancing: Signage has been displayed at our busiest stations to indicate safe distances in high traffic areas. In addition, protective plastic barriers have been installed at customer counters at our busiest stations.
More than 174,300 pets and their human companions have traveled around the country since the program launched on the Northeast Corridor in October 2015. The program has also generated more than $4.338 million in revenue since its inception. For more information visit Amtrak’s Pet policy
Rolls-Royce (London: RR.L) and Fermi Energia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to study the potential for the deployment of affordable, compact nuclear power stations, known as small modular reactors (SMR), in Estonia. The study will cover all aspects of deployment including grid suitability, cooling, emergency planning, human resources, licensing feasibility, economics and supply chain.
Rolls-Royce is leading a consortium that is designing a low-cost factory built nuclear power station, known as a small modular reactor (SMR). Its standardised, factory-made components and advanced manufacturing processes push costs down, while the rapid assembly of the modules and components inside a weatherproof canopy on the power station site itself avoid costly schedule disruptions.
Fermi Energia is a company founded by nuclear scientists, energy experts and entrepreneurs to bring small modular reactors to Estonia to meet its climate goals, help the economy develop and gain energy security.
The consortium led by Rolls-Royce is working with its partners and UK Government to secure a commitment for a fleet of factory built nuclear power stations, each providing at least 440MW of electricity, to be operational within a decade, helping the governments around the world net zero obligations.
The consortium members feature the best of nuclear engineering, construction and infrastructure expertise in Assystem, Atkins, BAM Nuttall, Jacobs, Laing O’Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Rolls-Royce and TWI. The current phase of the programme has been jointly funded by all consortium members and UK Research and Innovation.
The power stations will be built by the UKSMR consortium, before being handed over to be operated by power generation companies.
From Reuters News by By Bhargav Acharya and Aakriti Bhalla…
BENGALURU, India, February 14 (Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) will set up an electric-car manufacturing unit in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Saturday.
“The U.S. firm Tesla will be opening an electric car manufacturing unit in Karnataka,” the state government said in a brief statement.
The statement was part of a broader document outlining the highlights of India’s budget to its people in the local language of Kannada.
Alstom has been awarded the contract by Toulouse Metropole for the system for the third and new 27 km metro line, called Toulouse Aerospace Express, for the sum of more than €470 M. The contract could eventually be worth €713 M, including all options. The line consists of 21 stations and will serve the aviation labour pool.
The firm tranche of the order guarantees a transport capacity of 5,000 passengers per hour in each direction (pphpd), with options for up to 10,000 pphpd. It includes Alstom’s efficient, proven “Systems” solutions: Metropolis™ trains and Urbalis™ 400 CBTC solution for driverless operation and Hesop™ reversible substations. The scope also includes platform screen doors, including a dynamic system for load indication, and the track including the laying with the automated solution Appitrack™. Finally, the firm tranche of the order includes six years of maintenance, with 12 years of maintenance as an option.
“This order is excellent news for Alstom and I would like to thank Tisséo and Toulouse Metropole for their confidence! Alstom has submitted a very competitive system offer, while proposing its latest technologies and innovations on the various subsystems (vehicles, signalling, infrastructure and power supply). This order will enable us to continue developing our skills in France in all these areas, as well as our presence in the region of Occitanie, already in full expansion with our centres of excellence for Electrical component’in Toulouse and traction in Tarbes, and soon the Line 3 project team. We’ll also be calling on a number of local partners,” says Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, President of Alstom in France.
The city of Toulouse is renowned for its economic vitality and the quality of life of the surrounding region. The Toulouse Aerospace Express project is part of a drive to increase the city’s appeal with the help of sustainable, inclusive mobility.
Alstom will contribute to the economic vitality of the local area with its site in Toulouse, which will be the nerve centre of the project. The site will consequently be developed for the construction and maintenance activities, thereby promoting local employment. In total, more than 600 people in France will work on this project, including up to 400 people in the Toulouse metropolitan area at the peak of the activity. 80% of the hours spent working on this project will be in France and 55% directly in the region of Occitanie. Jobs will also be created with our suppliers in France and in the city of Toulouse for the activities of installation, infrastructure and system deployment.
Alstom’s integrated Systems solution provides a highly mature, efficient and comfortable transport offer, designed with maximum operability and reliability in mind, with record availability of 99.8%. Alstom has a global leadership position and fully proven experience in the successful construction, commissioning and delivery of new integrated metro systems, as well as in their safe, reliable and efficient operation. Alstom can boast more than 65 years’ experience, having sold over 17,000 metro cars that carry 30 million passengers every day operate in 55 cities around the world. One of the most recent successes for Alstom in integrated metro projects being the 15-kilometre-long Dubai Metro Route 2020, completed and delivered in July 2020
The design selected for the system and the metro makes it possible to propose a solution that minimises waiting time in stations, with reduced traffic frequency from the moment of entry into service, but which, by increasing the number of metro cars from 2 to 3, increases the transport offer to 15,000 passengers per hour in each direction, without modifying the infrastructure. Indeed, Alstom will design the system to be able to go up to 15,000. The base contract is for 5,000 with options to go up to 10,000.
The rolling stock belongs to the Métropolis™ range of trains. It benefits from the innovations and continuous improvement brought to this product for more than 15 years, through numerous R&D programmes and contracts executed throughout the world. This state-of-the-art metro has been designed to improve passenger experience as well as reconcile performance, energy efficiency and ease of maintenance, in order to control costs throughout its life cycle.
For passengers, as it is a new line, the train will be characterised in particular by increased volumes on board and large openings to the exterior. The experience of the journey will be made more pleasant with an atmosphere that is air-conditioned and quiet, LED lighting that adjusts to travel conditions, reinforced air filtration and antibacterial coatings on the handholds for a healthier interior.
Travel will be made easier from the moment you step on board, with, for example, platform facades indicating the density of people on board the cars.
Urbalis™ 400 is a proven, efficient CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) automatic operation solution, in commercial service in many cities around the world. Deployed or in the process of being deployed on more than 100 metro lines, notably in Lyon and Marseille, Urbalis 400™ is a generic solution, managed as a platform, to ensure optimum safety and reliability as well as long-term durability. The solution has also demonstrated its operational robustness and modular capabilities, enabling it to control sensitive interfaces such as those of the train or the centralised control centre.
The transport system solution provided by Alstom has also been designed to reduce operational costs, achieving major energy savings through a combination of reversible Hesop™ substations with regenerative braking, efficient traction and braking systems and improved CBTC automatic train control strategies.
And finally, the project also includes the construction of a rail track that reduces friction and fine particles to a minimum, thanks to steel-on-steel operation and offers guaranteed performance over time.
With this contract, Alstom is making a long-term commitment to mobility in Toulouse by ensuring the construction and maintenance of this third line on behalf of Tisséo.
To commemorate 20 years of Acela service throughout the Northeast Corridor (NEC),Amtrak is Acela-celebrating by offering customers the opportunity to travel on its premium product one way in Business class for only $20 from anywhere between Boston and Washington, D.C. The sale is available for purchase from Tuesday, Nov. 10, to Thursday, Nov. 12 and is valid for travel between Nov. 16 through Dec. 17 with blackout dates during Thanksgiving week (Nov. 24, 25, and 28 through 30) and on Fridays and Sundays. Other restrictions may apply and the fare may not be available on all departures.
As part of its partnership with experts from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Amtrak’s new, enhanced safety initiatives and amenities, including the recently introduced Reserved Seating offering, will continue to be in effect for customers and employees on our trains and at our stations.
“Celebrating 20 years of Acela service is an incredible milestone that we are proud to celebrate. We would like to thank our customers and give them a chance to see the changes we’ve made to the experience by offering an exceptionally low fare of only $20,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer Roger Harris. “For anyone who has been curious about the premium travel experience on our flagship product, this is your chance to ride Acela for a special, low fare that is only available for two days.”
