Rail supplier news from Alstom and Sensonic (June 16)

Alstom has entered into a contract with stainless steel supplier Outokumpu to source stainless steel with up to a 93% lower carbon footprint compared to the global industry average for the next generation of Alstom Metropolis metro trains. The first delivery of Outokumpu's Circle Green stainless steel is scheduled for 2026, Alstom officials said in a press release. The collaboration aligns with Alstom's sustainability procurement strategy, which aims for a 30% reduction in carbon emissions from purchased goods and services by 2030, Alstom officials said. "The Circle Green contract with Alstom is volume-wise the biggest for us in the mobility sector and is due to be used in a first metro train project in Europe," said Rolf Schencking, Outokumpu's president for business line advanced materials. A contract value was not disclosed.

Sensonic Inc., a fiber optic sensing company, is partnering with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) on a 12-month pilot project that calls for deploying Sensonic's distributed acoustic sensing technology and AI to detect intrusions and fallen objects on the CTA right of way, Sensonic officials said in a press release. The technology is designed to monitor changes in light scattering caused by acoustic vibrations, such as those from footsteps, vehicles or falling debris. Also, the technology can distinguish between normal train movements and outlier activity and notify CTA staff in real time of irregular events.