CANADA: A self-propelled track geometry vehicle formed by installing state-of-the-art electronic inspection equipment in a Budd RDC has been delivered to Canadian National.

This car was rebuilt for CN by US firm Gateway Rail Services, and now contains equipment produced by Ensco for the monitoring of curvature, alignment and levels. It is the first CN vehicle to be fitted with high speed cameras and optical recognition software which can detect flaws in rail joints.

‘Maintaining proper track geometry is integral to safe train operations,’ said Paul Miller, CN’s Chief Safety & Transportation Officer. ‘The acquisition of the new vehicle will permit us to increase the amount of in-house main line track geometry testing across our network. We take quality track seriously. Of CN’s C$1·5bn capital budget this year, C$1·1bn is focused on track infrastructure.’