UK: Track and rail infrastructure component supplier Vossloh has announced its intention to acquire UK-based LiDAR specialist Cordel. Voissloh said digital technology is a strategic priority for the group, and Cordel offers a differentiated suite of digital asset monitoring and optimisation technologies.
Cordel provides hardware and software for the processing and analysis of survey-grade digital imagery and point clouds within rail corridors. Laser measuring devices installed on trains are used to create three-dimensional images of the surrounding area. This allows for the early detection of issues such as uneven ballast bed and potential obstructions caused by branches or low-hanging overhead lines. The collected data are analysed using artificial intelligence.
Cordel operates through six group companies in three countries with 42 employees. Its technology is used by railways in the UK, Middle East, North America and Australia, with customers including Network Rail and Amtrak.
Vossloh said combining Cordel’s technologies with Vossloh’s laser inspection would help enable the development of automated track inspection systems with continuous line monitoring capabilities. In 2025 the two companies undertook a joint pilot project in continental Europe in order to assess the technical feasibility of the combination.
The proposed offer for the shares of Cordel Group plc, which is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, is intended to be implemented via a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under English law.
Cordel’s board intends to unanimously recommend that Cordel shareholders accept the offer, which would see them revive receive 12.4p per share and values the business at approximately £29m.
Completion is subject to certain conditions, including approval by Cordel’s shareholders and the relevant UK authorities, and is currently expected during Q3 2026.
‘The acquisition of Cordel is a highly attractive opportunity to accelerate our entry into new markets and geographies, while building on our position in innovative rail services’, said Oliver Schuster, CEO of Vossloh AG, on May 13. ‘By combining Vossloh’s global infrastructure expertise with Cordel’s advanced digital technologies for rail network monitoring and optimisation, we will create a more integrated and differentiated proposition for customers worldwide.’
At the end of April, Network Rail awarded Cordel a £3m contract for point cloud data processing to deliver structure gauging outputs at scale. The contract will run to December 2027, with an optional extension to December 2028 worth a further £1.3m.