Northrail has leased seven Siemens Mobility Vectron Dual Mode locomotives under two-year or longer contracts to Rheincargo (three locos), Locon Logistik & Consulting (two), BM Bahndienste (one) and Triangula Logistik (one). Northrail has also placed a firm order for Siemens to supply a further three Vectron locos under an existing framework agreement.
Kansas City Southern is to use the Commtrex platform to enhance the visibility of its network of more than 100 transload facilities in the USA and Mexico. KCS said this comes at a time of increasingly complex and volatile global supply chains, capacity constraints, labour shortages and rising transport costs, as well as growing trade throughout North America. The Commtrex platform allows shippers to search for facilities by parameters including location, commodities handled and services provided.
Tiger Cool Express has signed a letter of intent to acquire the former Union Pacific Railroad Cold Connect warehouse at Wallula in Washington State and to develop an adjacent intermodal facility. Services would initially be offered between Wallula and the Northwest Seaport Alliance on-dock facilities for dry and reefer exports, as well as from Wallula to Chicago and beyond using Tiger Cool Express refrigerated domestic containers and Union Pacific refrigerated vans. Expansion is planned, including destinations in the I-5 corridor and Mexico.
ÖBB Rail Cargo Group has announced a weekly TransFER wagonload connection between Villach and Trieste. The departure times can be agreed individually for the non-stop one-day connection, which is particularly suitable for the transport of wood, steel, aluminium and other non-ferrous metals.
The US Short Line Safety Institute has published online resources covering Safety Communication: Quality and Quantity, a Lost in Translation: Safety Communication in the Rail Industry paper, and HazMat Minute and Safety Minute videos.
Executive Vice-President for Precision Scheduled Railroading Sameh Fahmy is to leave Kansas City Southern by the end of the year. ‘I want to extend my recognition to Sameh for the contributions that he has made since joining KCS in 2019’, said President & CEO Patrick J Ottensmeyer on October 13. ‘He is leaving behind a strong and capable cross-functional team that he helped to recruit, develop and mentor.’