2017
As of September 1st, 2017 the RPS Signal GmbH has transferred its business operations to the DB Bahnbau Gruppe GmbH.
2016
As of August 31, 2016, Rail Power Systems GmbH (former Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH) and RPS Signal GmbH were taken over by Tianjin Keyvia Electric Co., Ltd (Keyvia). Founded in 2000, Tianjin Keyvia Electric Co., Ltd located in Tianjin, is listed at the stock exchange Shenzhen and Shanghai since 2014. Tianjin Keyvia Electric Co., Ltd. is engaged in the research, development, manufacture and sale of rail power supply, urban rail transportation automation equipment and systems, as well as the provision of technical service. Keyvia and the German Rail Power Systems GmbH are already successfully engaged in a Joint Venture for DC Switchgear since 2009.
2015
In November 2014, Balfour Beatty disposes of its Business Units Track, JumboTec GmbH and its Austrian branch office Balfour Beatty GmbH to Austrian-Swiss Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group. Transaction completed on 30.01.2015.
Rail Power Systems GmbH established: as of 2nd November 2015, Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH transfers its electrification division (i.e. the Fixed Installations and Power Supply System business units) including their employees and assets to the newly founded Rail Power Systems GmbH.
2014
Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH sells its Railroad Tuning Business Section to November 1st, 2014.
2013
Closure of the Turnout factory of Schreck-Mieves GmbH in Dortmund to December 31st, 2013.
2012
On August 13th, 2012 the business unit services of Schreck-Mieves GmbH is integrated into the Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH.
2010
On September 1st, 2010 the business unit track construction of Schreck-Mieves GmbH is integrated into the Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH. With this step, the core competencies in track for industry, transit and mainline transport continues under the name Balfour Beatty Rail.
Contract award for InoSig: The joint venture of Bombardier Transportation (Signal) Germany and Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH won the contract for the first construction phase of the ESTW Wuppertal. Under the lead of the InoSig Bombardier Transportation (Signal) Germany supplies the necessary remote and protection control systems and Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH supplies planning and design, project control and management as well as the installation. Overall planning and design management was awarded to IVV Ingenieursgesellschaft für Verkehrsplanung und Verkehrssicherung GmbH.
December 2009
Railway infrastructure ‘Made in Germany’ for China’s high-speed project: The first big high-speed line in the heart of China started up ahead of schedule, and has been in operation since the end of December 2009. Crucial to realisation of this major project was Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH, which for over 20 years has been a close und valued partner of Chinese Railways in the field of rail infrastructure solutions. The 968-kilometer, double-track line goes from Wuhan to Guangzhou, reducing the journey time from ten to a mere three hours. It is the core of the new high-speed link Beijing-Shenzhen (Hong Kong) – China’s most important north-south connection. With a design speed of 350 km/h and a cruising speed of about 320 km/h, the route sets a new record as the world’s fastest railway line. Thanks to successful tests involving top speeds of up to 394 km/h, it was possible to bring commissioning forward by a month.
after 2000
Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH
End of 2000, Balfour Beatty plc acquires the Fixed Installations Business of the Adtranz Group. The business is relaunched under the name of Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH.
In 2002, the Italian ABB SAE Sadelmi is acquired by the Balfour Beatty Rail Group and hence belongs to the Balfour Beatty GmbH section of the Balfour Beatty Rail Group.
End of 2004, the business section “Elektrotechnische Ausrüstung” (electro-mechanical equipment) of the “ABB Gebäudetechnik” is acquired by the Balfour Beatty Rail group and integrated into the Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH business. This acquisition expands the compentence of Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH in the field of electro-mechanical equipment.
End of August 2005, Balfour Beatty acquires SBB, the Signalbau Bahn GmbH in Stassfurt. In 2006 it was renamed to Balfour Beatty Rail Signal GmbH. In 2016 it was renamed to RPS Signal GmbH.
InoSig Joint Venture founded: Based on the joint venture contract of October 2007, Bombardier Transportation (Signal) Germany GmbH and Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH founded a joint venture for the production and sale of ESTW for the German market. Further information here www.inosig.de.
On August 1st, 2008 Balfour Beatty acquires the Schreck-Mieves GbmH including all subsidiaries in Germany, Russia, Sweden and the Netherlands. This acquisition is a strategic step towards the completion of the business portfolio range for rail infrastructure services. The Schreck-Mieves Track business segment comprises of planning, construction and maintenance of track systems in mass transit, urban and mainline Systems.
1990s
In 1994, the AEG business section “Bahnstromversorgung / Bahnleitungen” becomes an individual company, the AEG Bahnfahrwegsysteme GmbH.
In 1995, the first section of the Metro Shanghai project is commissioned. For this project the Consortium “German Metro Shanghai Group” lead by AEG Westinghouse Transport Systems was founded. AEG supplied vehicles and power supply systems, the conductor rail system is supplied by Siemens and AEG.
Adtranz
In March 1996, Daimler-Benz and Asea Brown Boveri announced their decision to join their individual rail activities to form a new company – the ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation (Adtranz). End of 1996 the final joint venture was approved by the authorities.
Balfour Beatty
In 1996, the company acquired a large proportion of what had previously been British Rail, added this to its existing rail business and began the current programme of growth in this area. This was then helped by the sale of the company’s cable manufacturing businesses, BICC, in May 2000 which provided the capital for a continuing expansion.
1980s
Balfour Beatty
Railway work also continued with the contract to extend the East Coast Main Line electrification from London to Edinburgh in 1986.
AEG
From 1989 to 1992 AEG in consortium with Siemens supplied the 470 km long highspeed line Madrid-Sevilla with an overhead-contact line system Re 250 for 25 kV 50 Hz.
The section executed by AEG amounts to 384 track km.
1970s
Henschel AG
In 1976 the Rheinstahl Henschel AG and Thyssen formed the group Henschel AG.
Balfour Beatty
By now railway electrification had become a major business for the group and during the ’70s major projects were carried out in Iran, India and in the UK. To this day, most of the tunnels in the world, which carry electrified railways, have Balfour Beatty conductors in them.
Work also began at the £350 million Mina Jebel Ali port in Dubai in 1975.
1660s
Balfour Beatty
In 1969, Balfour Beatty joined up with BICC, a cable manufacturing and power transmission business, and worked on a variety of projects including rail electrification in India and the UK.
AEG
In 1966, AEG and Telefunken merge to form one company known as “AEG-Telefunken”, to perform electrificaton projects worldwide.
A total length of 6481 km of the German Railway’s network is now electrified. i.e. more than 21%.
1950s
Balfour Beatty
In the 1950s, Balfour Beatty won a worldwide reputation for complex civil engineering projects which it has never relinquished. These included the largest rail tunnel in Britain under the Pennines, the Sloy Dam in the north of Scotland, a 4-mile canal in Iraq to divert the floodwaters of the Tigris which often threatened Baghdad and major works for the developing London Underground system. A Balfour Beatty company was also registered in Toronto to undertake marine projects in the Great Lakes in 1954.
By the time the company enjoyed its Golden Jubilee in 1959, it was able to celebrate “50 years of power development and services as a complete organisation with design, construction, operation and management of engineering projects in any part of the world.”
AEG
In 1950, the German Railway started with the standardization of overhead contact lines, based on the previous suggestions of AEG. Besides work on overhead contact line systems, AEG was also active in the field of OBus Systems and industrial railways.
In 1957, a length of 2630 km of the German Railway network were electrified.
1940s
Balfour Beatty
Overseas work was severely curtailed during the Second World War. The famous Churchill Barriers were built in the Orkneys to protect the eastern approaches to Scapa Flow – home of the British Naval Fleet. Once the war was over reconstruction work began. In 1946, work valued at £4 million included installing 100,000 kW of power plant, erecting 230 miles of transmission lines, bomb damage reconstruction, railway tunnel repairs and opencast coal mining. Two massive projects were initiated.
A 360,000 kW generating station at Staythorpe and a 345,000 kW station at Burry Port in South Wales.
1930s
AEG
Besides the construction of several overhead contact line projects in Germany, AEG is also strong in working abroad: some highlights were the construction of the 44 km long track between San Felipe – Quezaltenango in Guatemala and the 20 km long track between Nijmwegen-Arnheim of the Dutch Railway.
Balfour Beatty
By the 1930s, the group was not only building power stations such as that at Rannoch, but was also a major shareholder in Grampian Electricity Supply Company – its owners and operators, in a clear forerunner of today’s PFI programmes.
The company also built the first railway in Bermuda and a giant barrage across the Tigris in Iraq.
before 1930
AEG
In 1883, the “Gelegenheits-Gesellschaft” was founded by Emil Rathenau in Berlin. During the first years the company concentrated on the construction of illumination equipment, however, its portfolio was quickly expanded to the construction of electrical railways based on the patents of the American inventor J. Frank Sprague in 1888/89.
In 1889, a separate AEG Railway Division was founded, which was responsible for the construction of the first electrical tram line in Halle in 1891.
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty was founded in 1909 by George Balfour, a Scots mechanical engineer, and Andrew Beatty, an English chartered accountant. The company described itself as “general and electrical engineers, contractors, operating managers for tramways, railways and lighting properties and for the promoting of new enterprises.” The company’s first contract was for a new tramway system in Dunfermline in Fife.
BBC
In 1922, the company BBC was founded in Switzerland. Besides the construction of power plants and vehicles, the company focused also on the development and production of electrical equipment.
In the same year the Catenary Department of the BBC – the latter BBC Brown Boveri, was founded in Munich.