Rail supplier news from RSI, MULR, Alstom and Stadler (June 30)

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The Railway Supply Institute canceled the 2020 RSI Expo & Education Conference.Photo – rsiconference.org

The Railway Supply Institute (RSI) has canceled the 2020 RSI Expo & Education Conference due to the ongoing public health risks surrounding in person events and the safety of travel as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. The event was scheduled to take place Sept. 9-11 in Chicago. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker banned large scale gatherings until a vaccine or highly effective treatment for the virus becomes widely available, or that no new cases are recorded over a sustained period, a situation that appears highly unlikely to occur by this September, RSI officials said in a press release. In lieu of the event, RSI is exploring the possibility of holding a limited number of education sessions through a virtual platform and will provide additional information in the coming weeks, RSI officials said.

MUL Railcars Inc. (MULR) appointed Anders Vestergaard chief executive officer as of July 1. Vestergaard will succeed Jim Sharp, the company's founding CEO, who has completed his service with the company in a “preplanned management transition,” MULR officials said in a press release. “We have a great team, a diverse fleet and an excellent set of customer relationships,” Vestergaard said. “I’m excited to lead MULR through these challenging market conditions.  A final thank you to Jim for establishing and leading MULR to this point, the team and I intend to carry on his good work."

Alstom has launched a new version of its Mastria passenger flow management solution. The new version aggregates information on passenger demand from train weight sensors, ticketing machines, traffic signaling, management systems, surveillance cameras and mobile networks in order to offer a real-time picture of passenger flows. Mastria then processes the information and provides operators with information and recommendations to ensure and anticipate specified levels of occupation, as a percentage of maximum capacity, Alstom officials said in a press release.

Stadler Rail signed a contract with Arriva Nederland to retrofit 36 ​​trains with the European train control system (ETCS) GUARDIA. Because eight of the 36 trains are intended for international use, the system will be approved in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany as part of the order. Arriva is the first operator in the Netherlands to sign a contract to install this ETCS system. For Stadler, this is the first contract to upgrade trains with its own ETCS system, Stadler officials said in a press release. The contract will extend from 2020 to 2024. The first retrofitted trains will be operational by 2022.