Siemens and Mitsubishi specify their proposal for Alstom; the French strike continues..but is it petering out? Virgin get an extension to their WCML franchise, and the UK Government announces that rail industry suppliers are set to benefit from government investment to help them win new business, create jobs and generate economic growth.
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Headlines
(France) French rail strikes:Unhappiness is the truth.(The Economist)
(France) Intermodal freight returning to normal as SNCF strike peters out.(Lloyd's Loading List)
(Germany)
Siemens
Joint Press Release by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Siemens
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Siemens specify proposal to Alstom
Munich and Tokyo, 2014-Jun-20
The specified proposal continues to preserve Alstom's current perimeter in almost all its activities, enhances its industrial sustainability, strengthens its financial structure, enabling it to be a approx. Euro 20 billion revenue French listed group. With additional 1,000 new created jobs by MHI and additional 1,000 apprenticeship training positions by Siemens the proposal will foster job creation in France. MHI and Siemens continue to firmly believe that their proposal is the best one for Alstom, its employees, its clients, its shareholders and French national interests. Such proposal is superior industrially, financially and socially.
The specifications result in the following measures:MHI now intends to buy a 40 percent stake in the combined steam, grid and hydro business of Alstom. This amendment will significantly simplify the implementation of the transaction, as this investment may now be undertaken through one single holding company, as opposed to three JVs as contemplated in its June 16th proposal. Therefore cash contribution from MHI increases by Euro 800 million, from Euro 3.1 billion up to Euro 3.9 billion, while the valuation of the underlying businesses remain unchanged.
Based on a subsequent, more advanced opportunity / risk analyses Siemens had been able to increase its cash offer by Euro 400 million. This will increase the total evaluation of the proposal accordingly to Euro 4.3 billion.
In addition to the proposed Letter of Intent for the Rail business, Siemens offers to enter immediately into a Joint Venture for Mobility Management including Signalling between Alstom and Siemens.
Locomotives: Made in America (Siemens on YouTube)
(UK)
Crossrail
PRESS RELEASE
Crossrail’s lorry safety programme trains 7,000th driver
Crossrail has trained over 7,000 lorry drivers on how to share safely London’s roads with cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
Every frequent lorry driver working on the construction of Crossrail must complete a custom-made course designed in consultation with cycling and road safety campaign groups and the police.
The 7,000th driver to be trained was Matthew Stanton who works for RJC Lowloaders Ltd, a haulage company based in Northamptonshire.
The course covers areas such as hazard perception, causes of collisions and driver health. Drivers are also required to watch cycle safety training films designed to help both cyclists and drivers navigate and share the road safely.
Mick Heduan MBE, Crossrail Lorry Driver Training Programme Manager said: “Crossrail has led the industry to bring about far reaching reforms around HGVs in London. Our tailored training course has been a central part of a broad range of measures designed to make sure that vehicles supplying our sites comply with the very highest standards of safety.”
The 7,000th driver to be trained was Matthew Stanton who works for RJC Lowloaders Ltd, a haulage company based in Northamptonshire.
The course covers areas such as hazard perception, causes of collisions and driver health. Drivers are also required to watch cycle safety training films designed to help both cyclists and drivers navigate and share the road safely.
Mick Heduan MBE, Crossrail Lorry Driver Training Programme Manager said: “Crossrail has led the industry to bring about far reaching reforms around HGVs in London. Our tailored training course has been a central part of a broad range of measures designed to make sure that vehicles supplying our sites comply with the very highest standards of safety.”
Crossrail is the first project to mandate that HGVs must have additional safety equipment and driver training to protect cyclists and pedestrians. Thousands of HGVs working on the project have installed more than 20 additional safety items to alert the driver to cyclists and pedestrians and to reduce the risk of serious injury to other road users.
Where vehicles fail safety checks, the driver and the vehicle are suspended. Deliveries to site can only resume once the driver and a senior manager from the company have re-taken the lorry safety course.
Crossrail is also putting cyclists in the driver seat through its ‘exchanging places’ programme to provide an understanding of the blind spots experienced by lorry drivers and working with police to visit schools to help train the next generation of cyclists in road safety and lorry awareness.Mick Heduan was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for 2014 for his work training Crossrail’s lorry drivers to share safely London’s roads with cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
Ends
(Mexico) Crossing Mexico in a home-made 'spacecraft'.(BBC News)
(UK) West Coast line: Branson to bid again in two years.(BBC News)
Bombardier Wins Fleet Maintenance Contract with Virgin Trains for West Coast Franchise - Bombardier
(UK) Direct Blackpool to London rail link deal.(The Blackpool Gazette)
(UK)Wrexham to Chester £44m rail line upgrade starts.(BBC News)
(UK) From north to south: Celebrating London's bridges.(BBC News)
Westminster and Lambeth bridges
(UK)Remains of Britain's abandoned villages could be lost during construction of HS2 railway line.(The Independent)
(UK) Crossrail station at Canary Wharf nearly complete as striking lattice roof is finished.(London Evening Standard)
(UK)Network Rail plans 300 station pick-up points for online shoppers | Business(The Guardian)
(UK)Ipswich: Rail problems ease after hard week on tracks.(EADT24)
GOV.UK
Big opportunities ahead for UK Rail Supply Chain.
Newly-formed Rail Supply Group to be given £500,000 of funding to help rail suppliers secure new business at home and internationally.
Rail industry suppliers are set to benefit from government investment to help them win new business, create jobs and generate economic growth, ministers have announced.
With £38 billion being invested in the UK’s rail infrastructure over the next 5 years and a similar wave of investment overseas, the Department for Transport will invest £500,000 to help rail suppliers secure new business at home and internationally.
The funding will be provided to the newly-formed Rail Supply Group, which aims to bring government and the industry together to address the challenges and opportunities facing the UK supply chain.
The group, headed by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Terence Watson, president of rail manufacturers Alstom UK, will also work with the industry to develop a mentoring scheme to help small and medium-sized businesses compete against more established firms. The scheme, supported by the Rail Alliance and the Rail Supply Group’s member companies, will work with up to 500 firms in the first year.
Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport, said:
Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, said:We are investing record amounts in building a world-class railway in this country, with major infrastructure schemes such as Crossrail, Thameslink and HS2. Other countries are also investing heavily in rail and metro systems, which also represent a massive opportunity for UK suppliers to generate jobs and growth at home. Through the Rail Supply Group we are determined to give them the support they need so they can respond to this global demand and secure long-term economic growth.
The UK’s rail network is currently undergoing the biggest programme of modernisation since Victorian times, with more than £38 billion being invested in infrastructure and capacity improvements over the next 5 years.I have been working with the Transport Secretary to support the rail industry and boost its competitiveness as part of our Industrial Strategy. There will be significant investment in rail over the next 20 years, bringing considerable growth opportunities for UK-based companies if we can create the right conditions. Key to this is strengthening our supply chains so rail technologies and products are sourced in this country rather than overseas. By working together with business over the long term, we can build confidence to invest, grow and create British jobs in one of our most important sectors.
The rail sector contributes £7 billion a year to the UK economy and is experiencing an investment boom on the back of a doubling of passenger journeys since the mid-1990s. This sector is supported by a supply chain of around 80,000 workers and 3,500 firms.
Similar investments are being made overseas, creating a raft of opportunities for UK suppliers.
Martin Griffiths, Chairman of the Rail Delivery Group and Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group, said:
Significant future growth in freight and passenger traffic is expected, enhanced by major infrastructure works such as HS2, Crossrail, Thameslink, London Underground upgrades and the electrification of key rail routes across England and Wales.Our railway has been transformed over recent years into the EU’s most improved network, thanks to a combination of private sector innovation and government policy. A strong supply sector is key to our future success and as the companies who operate the railway in Britain, we look forward to working with the Rail Supply Group to make Europe’s best railway even better.
Terence Watson, Rail Supply Group industry co-chair, said:
Mark Carne, Chief Executive Network Rail, said:The products and technologies of the rail industry are delivering huge benefits for society through faster, more frequent, increased capacity and more energy efficient solutions. Growing the sector in the UK is critical for the economy, social progress and the environment. We want the UK to attract inward investment and, smartly done, this will benefit local supply chains, while our best suppliers will also be our best long term partners.
The Rail Supply Group Council - comprising ministers, rail industry business leaders and senior representatives from the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – met for the first time on Wednesday (18 June). They agreed the following 5 priorities in order to achieve its vision of increased UK competitiveness both home and overseas, which are:Closer collaboration with the railway supply chain will accelerate innovation and drive competitiveness. This is why Network Rail is strongly supportive of the formation of the RSG.
- exports and inward investment: promoting UK companies abroad and attracting international business to the UK
- innovation: helping UK companies develop, demonstrate and commercialise new technologies
- Skills: promoting rail as a career choice, raising skill levels across the industry through the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE).
- SMEs: helping small and medium sized businesses access markets and funding
- HS2: developing a future pipeline of work that draws on industry best practice
For more details on the SME mentoring scheme, contact the Rail Alliance at info@railalliance.co.uk
Contributors to setting up the group included:
- Alstom
- Amey
- Atkins
- Babcock
- Balfour Beatty
- Bombardier
- Carillion
- Costain
- Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
- Department for Transport
- First Group
- FutureRailway
- Hitachi
- HS2 Ltd
- JCP Consultancy Ltd
- Network Rail
- National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering
- Omnicom
- Perpetuum Ltd
- Porterbrook
- Rail Alliance
- Rail Delivery Group
- Railway Industry Association
- Siemens
- Elite KL
- South West Trains
(Switzerland) Cross-city tunnel opening increases capacity in Zürich.(Railway Gazette)
(Spain) Competition in the Spanish passenger market approved.(Railway Gazette)
(Australia)
Opening of the Jim Stynes Bridge,Melbourne. (DTPLI on YouTube)
Planning Minister Matthew Guy officially opens Melbourne's newest iconic bridge, named after the city's adopted son, champion footballer and philanthropist Jim Stynes.Mr Guy and Lord Mayor Robert Doyle joined the Stynes family, players from the Melbourne Football Club and members of the Reach Foundation to unveil the innovative, 120 metre bridge at Docklands.
USA
www.progressiverailroading.com
US Department of Transportation: Federal Railroad Administration.
FRA Administrator Challenges Southeast States to Develop Shared Vision for Rail Service
RICHMOND, Va. – Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo today called on elected officials and transportation planners in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to develop a shared vision of rail service along the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR) between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. Administrator Szabo’s challenge came as he addressed members and supporters of Virginians for High-Speed Rail during their 20th anniversary luncheon in Richmond.
“The metropolitan regions of the South and the Southeast in particular, are growing faster than other metropolitan regions across the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “In order to meet the mobility needs of a growing population and to move the products they will need to market, rail must play an enhanced role in the transportation delivery network there.”
Across the country, regions are banding together to forge collective long-term visions for passenger rail. Along the Northeast Corridor (NEC), eight states and the District of Columbia are working on a 40-year plan for rail service between Boston and Washington, D.C. In the Midwest, nine states and 40 cities have already developed the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a planning guide for long-term rail investments.
“Good planning is the cornerstone of service delivery and a plan reflecting the collective vision for a region helps the region compete effectively for future rail funds as money becomes available,” said Joseph C. Szabo, Federal Railroad Administrator. “In order for the region to achieve optimum growth, it will be necessary for them to work together more closely and plan for their transportation future.”
Administrator Szabo said regional planning between Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia could effectively yield seamless passenger rail travel all along the East Coast from Boston to Atlanta.
During his address, Administrator Szabo also highlighted the importance of the GROW AMERICA Act
, the
Obama Administration’s four-year $302 billion surface transportation
reauthorization bill now before Congress. The bill includes $19 billion for
rail, and for the first time, would provide railroads with a predictable,
dedicated funding source. The Act will invest $600 million in existing state
corridors like the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor and provide an additional
$6.4 billion for rail service improvements along existing, expanding and new
passenger corridors over the next four years.Passenger ridership has been setting record highs in the Southeast. In Virginia, passenger ridership is up 100 percent since 2009 and in North Carolina Amtrak’s Piedmont service between Charlotte and Raleigh continues to set ridership records carrying about 100,000 more people in 2013 than it did in 2009. Since 2007, passenger ridership in Georgia increased by 15 percent and by 14 percent in South Carolina.
Similarly, freight rail traffic in the Southeast has been increasing since 2009 an average of 10 percent annually. Georgia has seen an increase of nearly 13 percent with a more than 883,000 carloads of freight annually.
The Federal Railroad Administration, along with its 32 state partners and the District of Columbia, is laying the foundation for a higher performance rail network. Sixty-five projects worth $4.1 billion in High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program funding are currently completed, under construction, or will soon start construction in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Today, about $736 million in federal funding supports a dozen projects along the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.
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