Rail supplier news from Stadler, Hitachi, Alstom and NSH (Nov. 26)

Stadler and Trinity Metro signed a contract for four additional Stadler DMU FLIRT vehicles for the TEXRail commuter service, which serves North Texas. The trains will join an existing Stadler DMU FLIRT fleet, which has been in operation in Fort Worth since 2019, according to a Trinity Metro press release. With delivery expected in 2027, the additional vehicles will help Trinity Metro prepare for TEXRail's growth. Over 3 million riders have used the service since its launch in 2019. A dollar value of the four vehicles was not mentioned in the press release.

Alstom has signed a seven-year contract renewal with Denver International Airport to operate and maintain the Innovia Automated People Mover (APM) system. The new contract will run from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2032. The contract is valued at $229 million. Alstom will provide maintenance of the vehicles and the 1.2 mile of loop track; power and electrification; signs, signals and station platform doors; and the communications systems. The contract scope includes cleaning services for the interior and exterior of the trains; tunnel floor cleaning, pressure washing and floor drainage; facilities and platform doors; and the collection and disposition of hazardous waste, according to an Alstom press release.

Hitachi Rail has partnered with Invest Ontario as part of a more than C$100 million investment to upgrade Hitachi's communication-based train control (CBTC) signaling technology for urban rail operations in Canada. Hitachi Rail aims to develop a new generation of its CBTC technology called SelTracTM (G9), which will integrate artificial intelligence, 5G communications, edge and cloud computing, according to a company press release.

NSH USA Corp., formerly Simmons Machine Tool, is moving forward with design and construction of a manufacturing assembly building next to the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facility in community of Menands near Albany, New York. The facility will be 18,000 square feet and feature a 40-ton capacity overhead crane. Groundbreaking for the campus expansion project is tentatively scheduled for early 2025. “Record orders for our core railway machine tool and automation products as well as strategic contracts with aerospace and defense clients in North America are fueling the need for the expansion," said NSH USA President and Chief Operating Officer David William Davis in a press release.