Rail supplier news from Hitachi Rail, Delta Railroad Services and Alstom (July 30)

Hitachi Rail's first trainset for TransLink's SkyTrain fleet expansion recently entered passenger service in Vancouver, British Columbia. TransLink is adding 47 new Mark V trainsets to its fleet, each equipped with Hitachi's SelTrac vehicle on-board controllers. SelTrac communications-based train control was developed in Canada and is the operational backbone of the SkyTrain network, Hitachi officials said in a press release. The new technology communicates with the existing signaling system in the SkyTrain network, also developed by Hitachi.

Delta Railroad Services' CEO Linda Laurello on June 20 hosted the company's inaugural "CEO for a day" initiative. Six high-school, college and early-stage career professionals were invited to Delta's Quality Track Equipment facility, a 60,000-square-foot facility dedicated to engineering, custom design and manufacturing services for MOW machinery. The six participants engaged in on-site activities designed to give them a "day in the life" look at what the CEO of the railroad construction and equipment rental company does. "As a CEO, it is especially important for me to remind young talent just how much they bring to the table in business and leadership in all industries," Laurello said in a press release.

Alstom has signed a contract worth over 300 million euros to modernize France's SYTRAL Mobilites line D on the Lyon metro. Alstom will supply 26 new automatic trainsets and will upgrade systems and automation on line D. The rolling stock and automatic control system will be developed and designed in France. The rolling stock will be fully automated and compatible with trains currently deployed on line B, enabling rolling stock interoperability and multiple unit operation, Alstom officials said in a press release. Meanwhile, Alstom also delivered its 1,000th Fleet of the Future railcar to Bay Area Rapid Transit on July 28. The Fleet of the Future project will be completed in 2026, when BART accepts the final 1,129th rail car from Alstom. The cars each go through a five-day testing and certification process.