Piper Networks’ Ultra Wideband (UWB) train control system has received safety certification from independent assessor TÜV SÜD, paving the way for its integration with signaling and train control programs at transportation agencies worldwide.
Thales and Montreal-based technology startup OSCP (One Silicon Chip Photonics) are developing an optical inertial technology-based autonomous-train positioning device.
Hitachi Rail’s announcement on Aug. 4 that it will acquire Thales’ railway business is set to shake up the global signaling sector. International Railway Journal Editor-in-Chief Kevin Smith examines the deal and its implications for the market.
The first Alstom Citadis Spirit light rail vehicle has arrived for the C$2.5 billion (US$1.95 billion) Finch West LRT project in northwest Toronto. The 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) line is slated to open in 2023.
Hitachi Rail has agreed to acquire Thales’ Ground Transportation Systems business for €1.66 billon (US$1.97 billion). The deal is expected to conclude in late 2022.
Simmons Machine Tool Corp. and Hegenscheidt-MFD Corp. are merging to become NSH USA Corp. In addition, Thales’ interoperable ticketing technology is now “Visa Ready for Transit” certified, and BAI Communications (BAI) is acquiring Mobilitie, a U.S. telecommunications infrastructure company.
Thales is seeking to divest its rail signalling business “in a potential deal worth 1.5 billion euros or more (US$1.8 billion),” according to a Reuters report based on unidentified “people close to the matter.”
Thales will supply 82 SelTrac™ Vehicle On-Board Controllers (VOBCs) as part of TransLink’s SkyTrain fleet expansion in Vancouver.
Among the final duties that former MTA New York City Transit Vice President Network and Resignaling Pete Tomlin discharged before he left the agency following Andy Byford’s resignation as President was demonstrating an innovative piece of new technology—UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), wireless technology that offers faster and less-expensive installation of modern CBTC (communications-based train control) by eliminating much of the onboard and wayside equipment traditionally required for advanced-technology signaling. Tomlin—arguably one of the finest signaling and train control people on the planet—collaborated with suppliers Thales and Piper Networks in an impressive public demonstration of UWB.
RAILWAY AGE, DECEMBER 2019 ISSUE: If legendary New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra were to ride Ottawa’s new Confederation Line, he would say—provided he was familiar with the old North Shore’s Electroliners or Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co.’s Liberty Liners—“It’s déjà vu all over again.”
