North America – Page 42
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NewsWabtec acquires Nordco
USA: Wabtec Corp has signed a definitive agreement to acquire North American track maintenance and inspection equipment and wagon mover supplier Nordco. The business will be acquired from Greenbriar Equity Group for $400m in cash, to be financed through cash on hand and a revolving credit ...
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NewsMetra to install enhanced air filters on Chicago commuter fleet
USA: Chicago commuter operator Metra has selected Transitair Systems for a $6·6m contract to provide new air filtration and purification systems for nearly 700 coaches which are not due to be replaced by the Alstom cars which it has recently ordered. The equipment is designed to ...
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NewsCanadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern agree to merge
NORTH AMERICA: The two smallest Class I railroads, Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern, have agreed to merge, creating what they say will be ‘the first US-Mexico-Canada rail network’.
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NewsENSCO awarded Transportation Technology Center contract
USA: ENSCO has been awarded a $571m contract to provide research and development, testing, engineering and training services at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado. The contract includes a five-year base period and three options each for a further five years. Transition of the operations, maintenance ...
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NewsHydrogen fuel cell locomotive to be tested by Sierra Northern Railway
USA: The California Energy Commission has awarded Sierra Northern Railway and energy research organisation GTI almost $4m to fund the production of a fuel cell shunting locomotive, with the aim of demonstrating the potential for hydrogen traction units to reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to diesel. ...
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NewsChicago commuter rail coach order confirmed
USA: Alstom and Chicago commuter rail operator Metra have finalised a framework contract for the supply of 500 double-deck push-pull coaches, with a €650m firm order for an initial 200 vehicles. The Metra board selected Alstom as preferred bidder in January. The ...
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Metro Report InternationalHitachi Rail awarded Washington metro car contract
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has awarded Hitachi Rail a contract to supply the next generation of trains for the federal capital’s 165 km, six-route metro network.
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Metro Report InternationalFirst Tempe Streetcar vehicle delivered
USA: Phoenix operator Valley Metro has taken delivery of the first of six Liberty NXT trams from Brookville Equipment Corp to work the 4·8 km Tempe Streetcar line which is scheduled to open this year. Ordered in 2017 at cost of $33m, the trams are fitted ...
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Metro Report InternationalSustainability to be designed into Washington metro depot
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has selected a partnership of architecture, engineering and sustainability company Stantec and construction firm Hensel Phelps to design and build a $225m heavy repair and overhaul facility in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The depot connected to the Orange Line will ...
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NewsTransporting a locomotive from Kassel to New Jersey
USA: Universal Transport Group is managing the delivery of 25 ALP45-DP locomotives which NJ Transit ordered from Bombardier Transportation. The electro-diesel locomotives are being produced at the Kassel factory in Germany. Universal Transport Group’s project forwarder Züst & Bachmeier is responsible for organising and handling transport ...
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NewsAmerica Rescue Plan funding foreshadows Amtrak’s return to growth
USA: The passage through both houses of Congress of the America Rescue Plan Act in early March has been welcomed by Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn, with the national passenger rail company set to receive $1∙7bn in recovery funding.
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NewsGulf of Mexico train ferry fleet renewal
NORTH AMERICA: The first of two train ferries ordered for CG Railway’s route across the Gulf of Mexico has been launched by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Co in China. The CGR joint venture of Genesee & Wyoming and SEACOR Holdings transports 10 000 wagons/year between Mobile ...
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NewsAmsted Digital Solutions acquires GeoMetrix Rail Logistics
NORTH AMERICA: US telematics company Amsted Digital Solutions has acquired Calgary-based fleet management software developer GeoMetrix Rail Logistics, as a ‘first milestone’ towards expanding its digital footprint. ‘Our vision is to create a seamless and single platform experience for our customers’, said ADS Chief Operations Officer ...
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NewsAAR proposes transport decarbonisation initiatives
USA: The Association of American Railroads has outlined a series of policy proposals aimed at leveraging the improved environmental performance of rail freight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector, ‘safely and effectively combatting climate change’.
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NewsFuel cells ordered for Canadian Pacific hydrogen locomotive
CANADA: Ballard Power Systems is to supply the fuel cells for Canadian Pacific’s hydrogen locomotive programme, which aims to develop North America’s first hydrogen-powered main line freight locomotive by retrofitting fuel cells and a battery storage system to an existing diesel loco.
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Metro Report InternationalMonterrey Metro Line 3 opened
MEXICO: The 7·5 km light metro Line 3 in Monterrey has opened, connecting the end of Line 2 at General I Zaragoza with Hospital Metropolitano. The line has an 800 m underground section between General I Zaragoza and Santa Lucía, with the rest being elevated. Constuction ...
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NewsHydrogen rejected as alternative to commuter railway electrification
CANADA: The use of hydrogen traction is not being included in the reference concept design for the enhancement of Toronto’s commuter rail network, after transport agency Metrolinx concluded that the technology would not achieve the desired objectives. Metrolinx is planning to spend C$75bn on metro, light ...
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In depthUSA: Living with extreme weather
Building on many years of experience, US railroads large and small have developed cost-effective approaches to dealing with the impact of extreme weather incidents and other natural disasters, but continue to evolve their response strategies. Dave Lustig investigates.
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NewsNorfolk Southern drops plans for rail terminal on convict labour site
USA: Norfolk Southern has dropped plans to build a rail-served ethanol terminal on the site of a former brickworks near Atlanta which had made extensive use of a system of leasing convicted prisoners as forced labour.
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NewsMetra to test electric shunting locomotive
USA: The board of Chicago commuter operator Metra has approved a plan to procure seven low-emission shunting locomotives, including its first zero-emission electric loco. The six diesel locos would be required to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier IV emissions standards, the highest currently in effect. ...