India’s Ministry of Railways and RDSO have approved the operation of Alstom’s WAG 2B electric locos at up to 120 km/h, which the manufacturer said makes them the fastest freight locos in the country. ‘The approval from RDSO is indeed a matter of pride for all of us at Alstom and a testimony of our technical expertise in partnership with Indian Railways’, said Alain Spohr, Managing Director, Alstom India & South Asia. ‘In line with India’s push towards self-reliance, we have successfully leveraged our local engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Alstom is also committed to supporting IR in reducing its carbon footprint and adopt cleaner technologies in its quest to transform into the world’s largest green railway network.’
Newly-formed Watco subsidiary Elwood Joliet & Southern Railroad has acquired a former Railway & Industrial Services repair shop in Crest Hill, Illinois, and leased the adjoining Phoenix Line from Wisconsin Central. Watco plans to repurpose the property as a storage and transit yard and provide shunting services for customers in the plastics and chemical industries.
Russia’s United Wagon Co is to supply TransContainer with 150 Type 13-6903 container flat wagons with 25 tonne axleload bogies for the transport of high-capacity containers and tank containers with a gross weight of up to 36 tonnes. Deliveries are scheduled by the end of this year.
Union Pacific has appointed Rahul Jalali as Chief Information Officer with effect from November 2. He spent 23 years with Walmart Inc, most recently as Vice-President of Walmart International. Jon Panzer, currently Interim CIO, has been named Senior Vice-President, Strategic Planning.
The UK government has announced £17m of funding for track and signalling works to increase the maximum length of freight trains from the port of Southampton from 520 m to 775 m. ‘Our upgrades will support up to 14 extra containers for each train, providing a great boost for Britain’s freight network and those businesses relying on it to transport goods to stock shops, and materials for industry’, said Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex Route Director.
OmniTRAX is to expand its Rail-Ready Sites programme to the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway, which interchanges with Class I operators Union Pacific, BNSF and Kansas City Southern de México. ‘Brownsville offers companies a great location with access to Latin America via rail, highway and sea, and has a cost of doing business that is 20% lower than the rest of the country’, said Mario Lozoya, Executive Director & CEO of the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corp.
Margaret A McKenzie has joined the CN board, bringing more than 30 years of experience of management, finance, accounting, compensation and corporate governance in the energy sector.
Lt General (Ret) Thomas Bostick has been appointed to the CSX board of directors.
