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    1. Management

    International Transit Supplier News Roundup for July 2, 2021

    July 2, 2021
    Updates from Alexander Dennis and BYD, Alstom, BAI Communications, Hitachi Europe, Journeo and AirLabs, Passenger, Siemens Mobility and Webuild Group.
    Alexander Dennis
    New Lothian buses.
    New Lothian buses.
    Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and BYD UK supplied four zero-emission BYD ADL Enviro400EV double deck buses to Lothian Buses in Edinburgh through their electric vehicle partnership. Their introduction has been funded as a flagship project of SP Energy Networks’ £20 million (US$27.5 million) Green Economy Fund. The vehicles will enable Edinburgh to take a major step in its journey towards the city becoming Net Zero by 2030. These buses will bring immediate benefits to the city and the communities in which they operate, helping improve the city’s air quality and reducing pollution.
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    Alstom Design & Styling/HSB
    A rendering of a future DSB “Fremtidens Tog – Nye Tog” (Trains of the Future – New Trains).
    A rendering of a future DSB “Fremtidens Tog – Nye Tog” (Trains of the Future – New Trains).

    Alstom has won the largest train tender in Danish rail history. Part of a landmark framework agreement with Danish State Railways (DSB) valued at a total of €2.6 billion (US$3.08 billion), the first firm order of 100 Coradia Stream regional trains, as well as a 15-year full-service maintenance agreement amounts to a value of €1.4 billion (US$1.66 billion). The framework agreement includes an additional 15 years of maintenance services and the possibility to order additional trainsets.

    Delivery of DSB’s “Fremtidens Tog – Nye Tog” (Trains of the Future – New Trains) is scheduled to begin in the last quarter of 2024. Once in service, this new fleet will operate as a regional and fast rail service and connect Denmark’s Frederikshavn region in the north to Rødby in the southeast after passing through the capital city of Copenhagen.
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    BAI Communications
    BAI Communications UK CEO Billy D'Arcy at TfL's Westminster station.
    BAI Communications UK CEO Billy D'Arcy at TfL's Westminster station.
    BAI Communications (BAI) has been awarded a 20-year concession by Transport for London (TfL) to deliver high-speed mobile connectivity that will establish a backbone of connectivity with a city-wide integrated communications network delivering multi-carrier cellular, Wi-Fi and fiber connectivity services. The 4G-enabled and 5G-ready communications network that BAI will build and operate as a neutral host for fixed and mobile operators will fast-track London’s evolution as a smart city. BAI will also help to create a safer, smarter London by building and operating critical communications infrastructure that will support police, fire and ambulance services.
    Through this concession, BAI will help the transport authority support London’s post-COVID-19 recovery as travel resumes, delivering seamless 5G ready connectivity that will enable people to move around the city more efficiently, safely and securely. More specifically, this project will enable TfL to reduce overcrowding and manage station flow, while improving safety with real-time information and reliable ‘from anywhere’ communications.
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    Hitachi
    Hitachi Europe and Arrival have partnered to deliver new bus and infrastructure solutions to the European bus industry.
    Hitachi Europe and Arrival have partnered to deliver new bus and infrastructure solutions to the European bus industry.
    Hitachi Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and Arrival have partnered to deliver new bus and infrastructure solutions to the European bus industry. The non-exclusive partnership combines Hitachi’s digital and operational capabilities with Arrival’s best-in-class products that are competitive in price with fossil fuel alternatives. Both companies will work with operators to deploy integrated end-to-end solutions that incorporate all aspects of owning and operating Arrival vehicles; this includes items such as charging infrastructure and digital tools.
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    AirLabs
    AirBubbl installed.
    AirBubbl installed.
    21st Century Fleet Systems, part of Journeo plc, is teaming up with air quality management experts AirLabs in an exclusive UK partnership for the distribution of AirLabs’ advanced air filtration technology – the AirBubbl. The device has been scientifically proven to remove more than 99 percent of airborne viruses and contaminated particulate matter and can be deployed in public transport vehicles to remove airborne coronavirus particles and air pollution, protecting passengers and drivers. The agreement will open up access for the AirBubbl device to 21st Century’s portfolio of industry leading customers, including UK transport operators such as Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead Group and National Express, as well as regional operators such as Sullivan Buses and social enterprise groups such as the HCT Group.
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    Passenger
    Passenger’s Premium watch apps are available on Android and iOS.
    Passenger’s Premium watch apps are available on Android and iOS.

    Passenger is enhancing its support for bus operators as lockdown eases in the United Kingdom by offering its premium customers free watch apps for Android and iOS, which provides users an average savings of £2,000 (US$2,752) per year. Passenger’s Premium watch apps for Android and iOS allow users to find their closest stops, look up departures from favorite stops, send departure boards to the watch from the app, view a step count/distance to bus stops and receive notifications when they approach their stop (currently iOS only).

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    Siemens Mobility signed a €231 million (US$273.62 million) contract with the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) for the implementation of the “Taiwan Railway Smart Electrical Systems Upgrade and Signaling Interlocking System Update Project.” The project primarily consists of replacing existing relay interlockings with new electronic interlocking systems at 68 stations that will cover 450 km (279.6 miles) of the island’s approximately 1,110 km (689.7 miles) total railway network. Siemens Mobility will provide 10 years of maintenance and the customer also reserves the right to procure EI systems for 10 additional stations as part of the contract.
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    The Webuild Group was awarded a design-build contract for Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni Functional Lot 1 - a subsection of the Giampilieri-Fiumefreddo section of the railway valued at approximately €640 million (US$758.1 million).

    About the Author

    Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director

    Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.

    Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

    She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.  

    She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.

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