All North America articles – Page 14
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News
CRRC to supply commuter coaches to Montréal
CANADA: CRRC Tangshan has been awarded a contract to supply 24 double-deck hauled coaches to operate on commuter services serving Montréal. The coaches are to be deployed on the Deux-Montagnes line, ahead of the opening of the Réseau Électrique Métropolitain light metro. The coaches are also expected to replace ...
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Fuel cells to be studied as alternative to Toronto electrification
CANADA: Ontario is to study the feasibility of using of hydrogen fuel cells ‘as an alternative to conventional overhead wires’ for the planned electrification of GO Rail and UP Express routes in the Toronto region. According to the province’s Ministry of Transportation, recent advances in the use of hydrogen fuel ...
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Complex interoperability requirements in Chicago PTC contract
USA: Wabtec Corp has signed a $22m contract to design, supply and commission Positive Train Control for the Belt Railway Company of Chicago, which owns and operates about 470 km of track, including 43 km of main line track. Under the contract announced on June 7 Wabtec is to provide ...
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Hudson Bay Railway services to Churchill suspended after washouts
CANADA: Hudson Bay Railway services between Amery, 47 km northeast of Gillam, and Churchill have been suspended indefinitely owing to ‘unprecedented and catastrophic’ flood damage and are not expected to resume before the winter season, parent company OmniTRAX announced on June 9. HBR has been unable to operate to Churchill ...
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Tier 4 genset locomotive enters service
USA: Railserve’s first Tier 4 compliant Dual Leaf Gen-Set Locomotive has entered service in Freeport, Texas. The latest addition to Railserve’s family of locomotives has two Cummins QSX15 engines, and can use only one when hauling lighter loads. The Dual Leaf is intended for shippers, industrial users and short line ...
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SMBC Rail acquires American Railcar Leasing
USA: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp’s wagon leasing and fleet management business SMBC Rail Services completed the $2·78bn acquisition of American Railcar Leasing from investment group Icahn Enterprises on June 1. Chicago-based SMBC Rail said the transaction would produce a ‘premier’ full service lessor of ‘long-lived’ rolling stock for the North ...
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Caltrain board approves operating and capital budgets
USA: Caltrain’s board approved the operating and capital budgets for the financial year starting on July 1 at its monthly meeting on June 1. The $148·2m operating budget includes $20·5m in funding contributions from San Mateo County Transit District, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the City & County ...
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Caltrain electrification funding confirmed
USA: The Federal Transit Administration confirmed on May 22 that it would execute a Full Funding Grant Agreement worth $647m for electrification of the Caltrain commuter rail corridor between San Francisco and San Jose. Caltrain had agreed contracts in July last year with Balfour Beatty and Stadler for electrification work ...
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Trump urged to intervene in ‘emergency’ at New York Penn Station
USA: Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State, wrote to President Donald Trump on May 21 requesting that the federal government treat the ongoing infrastructure and operational difficulties at New York Penn Station ‘as an emergency situation’ and provide funding for short- and long-term enhancements of the station. Two derailments ...
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Rail industry responds to proposed Canadian legislation
CANADA: The government has introduced legislation the House of Commons which according to Minister of Transport Marc Garneau is intended to ‘promote a transparent, fair, efficient and safer national freight rail system that will facilitate trade and meet the needs of users and all Canadians.’ The Transportation Modernization Act Bill ...
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Wabtec signs Tri-Rail PTC contract
USA: Wabtec Corp has signed a $40m contract to design, install, test and commission Positive Train Control for South Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s Tri-Rail commuter rail service. Wabtec is to supply its Interoperable Electronic Train Management System for 42 locomotives and cab cars, along with a back-office server and lineside ...
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Cando Rail opens Kamloops site
CANADA: Independent terminal services and wagon storage company Cando Rail has opened the first phase of its rail terminal at Kamloops in British Columbia. Phase 1 includes tracks for the storage of empty wagons. Future plans include facilities for transloading , wagon repair s, and track and engineering services. The ...
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CRRC to build North American wagon plant in Canada
CANADA: Chinese rolling stock manufacturing group CRRC announced on May 5 that it plans to open a factory at Moncton in New Brunswick to produce wagons and braking systems for the North American market. The plant would be a joint venture between Sichuan-based wagon builder CRRC Meishan, a CRRC subsidiary ...
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Powers sought for privately-financed 420 km Chicago rail bypass
USA: Great Lakes Basin Transportation Inc filed a formal application with the Surface Transportation Board on May 1 seeking federal permission to build and operate a 420 km privately-financed railway to bypass the Chicago area. GLBT estimates that 15% to 25% of rail traffic passing through Chicago does not originate ...
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Caltrain ‘cautiously optimistic’ on federal support for rail investment
USA: San Francisco to San Jose commuter rail operator Caltrain said on May 3 that it expected the Trump administration’s 2017 budget would include a $100m investment in the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project. Caltrain had agreed contracts in July last year with Balfour Beatty and Stadler for electrification work and ...
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Greenbrier and Sumitomo launch GBSummit axles business
USA: The Greenbrier Companies and Sumitomo Corp have opened a jointly-owned axle machining plant in California. GBSummit is adjacent to an established Greenbrier Rail Services wagon wheelset maintenance facility at San Bernardino. GBSummit uses advanced automation for axle machining, and offers comprehensive axle services including inspection and cleaning, finishing ...
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Capitol Corridor Charger unveiled
USA: The first of six Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives for northern California’s Capitol Corridor inter-city route from Sacramento to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley was unveiled on April 18. A 30-day period of revenue testing is expected to begin by the end of April, ahead of entry into ...
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Siemens launches 'internet of trains' Digital Rail Services business
USA: Siemens has formed a Digital Rail Services business to improve rail operations by creating an ‘internet of trains’ making intelligent use of data generated by sensors on infrastructure and vehicles. The Digital Rail Services business is based at the Georgia Institute of Technology Campus in Atlanta. It aims to ...
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First locomotive modernisation completed
USA: Motive Power Resources has rolled out the first locomotive to be modernised at its recently-completed heavy overhaul and repair facility in Minooka, Illinois. The EMD SD38 locomotive for Ardent Mills in Easton, Pennsylvania, has been refurbished with new mechanical components and a ZTR Nexus control system. The ...
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Operators from five countries interested in California high speed rail contract
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has received five responses to its request for qualifications for the contract to provide early train operator services to assist with the development and management of the initial phase of the high speed line. By the April 4 deadline, statements of qualifications had been submitted ...