The US government is intending to prevent the planned sale of the diesel locomotive division of German railway technology supplier Vossloh to Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC. At the end of April 2020, the German Federal Cartel Office approved the EUR 100 million deal (((18/2020-79436))). The US government fears a security risk but does not officially comment on the matter. Before the sale to CRRC, Vossloh was even considered a candidate for bankruptcy. Although the Chinese side expressly refused to answer some questions of the German Federal Cartel Office, the deal was approved despite some reservations. It can hardly be stopped since the German Federal Ministry of Economics approved the deal in February 2020.
Source: Capital 21.05.2020

Peter Spuhler, Chair of the Board of Directors for rolling stock manufacturer Stadler, takes over the position of Group CEO from Thomas Ahlburg. Due to different opinions regarding Stadler\'s strategic and organisational development, the Board of Directors and the current Group CEO Ahlburg have decided to terminate the employment relationship by mutual agreement. Until a successor is appointed, the Chair of the Board of Directors, Spuhler, will also assume the office of Group CEO with immediate effect. Ahlburg will continue to serve the company as Senior Advisor until the end of 2020.
Source: Stadler press release 21.05.2020

Norwegian infrastructure manager Bane Nor has been granted an additional budget of EUR 75 million (NOK 826 million) in the revised state budget by the Norwegian government. A share of EUR 50 million of this is additional funding. The additional budget will be invested in the expansion of the Follo, Ostfold and Vestfold lines, the costs of which have increased (((14/2020-78524))).
Source: IRJ 15.05.2020

Siemens Mobility has partnered with Ondas Networks, a wireless network developer, to bring various wireless radio communications systems to the North American market. Ondas is a developer of a mission-critical Internet of Things (MC-IoT) infrastructure that equips rolling stock with high-performance wireless networks. The partnership will develop new radios that are compatible with Siemens\'s Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) and are MC-IoT capable. The radio devices for track and base stations are scheduled to be launched in 2021.
Source: Siemens press release 14.05.2020

On 14th May 2020, the Laboratorio de Mobilidade Sustentavel (LABOMB) of the University of Rio de Janeiro has launched an online platform to monitor 1,229 electric buses that are in operation in 27 South American cities. The platform was launched in cooperation with the Zero Emission Bus Rapid-Deployment Accelerator (ZEBRA) project. The website will show how many electric buses are deployed in each city, the share of zero-emission buses of the total bus fleet, and the amount of CO2 savings per year.
Source: Sustainable Bus 14.05.2020