North America – Page 85
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NewsCP proposes Norfolk Southern merger
NORTH AMERICA: Canadian Pacific confirmed on November 17 that it had written to Norfolk Southern Corp, proposing a ‘business combination’ to ‘create a transcontinental railroad’ which it feels could become ‘a new industry leader’. Rumours of a bid had emerged a week earlier on November 9, after an earlier proposal ...
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NewsGateway Development Corp to lead trans-Hudson tunnel project
USA: Officials from the states of New York and New Jersey announced on November 12 that a governance model has been agreed to take forward plans for an additional rail tunnel beneath the Hudson river between Newark and New York. A four-party entity known as the Gateway Development Corp would ...
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NewsUP opens beer wagon cleaning facility
USA: A ceremony on November 3 marked the opening of Union Pacific’s $40m Kinney County Railport in Texas, which will undertake food-grade cleaning and repairs on boxcars used to carry packaged beer from Mexico to the USA. The site between Eagle Pass and Brackettville covers 40 ha, with ...
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NewsSEPTA orders Siemens electric locos
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has formally awarded preferred bidder Siemens a $118m contract to supply 13 ACS-64 electric locomotives by early 2018, along with spare parts and staff training. The contract announced on November 11 includes an option for up to five more of the locomotives, which are ...
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NewsSEPTA orders Siemens electric locos
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has formally awarded preferred bidder Siemens a $118m contract to supply 13 ACS-64 electric locomotives by early 2018, along with spare parts and staff training. The contract announced on November 11 includes an option for up to five more of the locomotives, which are ...
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NewsFlorida’s Brightline to ‘take the grey out of travel’
USA: Privately-owned inter-city passenger service promoter All Aboard Florida unveiled Brightline as the branding for its future services on November 9. AAF plans to launch Miami – West Palm Beach services in mid-2017, and Miami – Orlando later the same year. The Brightline brand has been developed in partnership ...
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NewsMore Siemens Charger diesel locomotives ordered
USA: Siemens has received orders for a further 34 Charger diesel locomotives from three states, the company announced on November 6. This includes 14 locomotives for California, eight for Maryland and 12 for Illinois. All have been ordered as options on the initial $225m contract for 32 locos awarded in ...
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NewsLow-emission locos enter service in Chicago
USA: Government officials joined Norfolk Southern at 47th Street intermodal yard in Chicago on November 5 to inaugurate a fleet of remanufactured low-emission diesel shunting locomotives. Intended to offer cut particulate emissions by 76% and reduce NOx pollutants, the GP33ECO locomotives are remanufactured from EMD GP50 locomotives repowered with ...
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NewsMetro-North locos return to service
USA: The first of seven EMD GP35R diesel locomotives which Brookville Equipment Corp is modernising for New York MTA has re-entered service with Metro-North Commuter Railroad. The locomotives date from 1964 and are used on rescue and works trains. They are being modernised under a contract awarded in 2013, which ...
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NewsOntario appoints high speed rail advisor
CANADA: On October 30 the government of Ontario announced the appointment of former federal Transport Minister David Collenette as a special advisor tasked with developing high speed rail proposals for the Windsor - London - Kitchener-Waterloo - Toronto corridor. Collenette is to work with public and private-sector stakeholders to assess ...
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NewsCongress extends PTC deadline by three years
USA: The potential shutdown of many rail services on January 1 has been avoided, after Congress approved a three-year extension of the federally-mandated December 31 deadline for the installation of Positive Train Control. The installation of PTC by the deadline was not considered feasible by the industry, and without ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern to stop accepting traffic ahead of PTC deadline
USA: Ahead of the now unachievable December 31 deadline for the introduction on PTC on routes carrying passenger trains and certain hazardous freight traffic, Norfolk Southern announced on October 20 that it would stop accepting shipments of poisonous-inhalation-hazard commodities with effect from December 1. NS has also written to Amtrak, ...
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NewsBlockade to speed Chicago – St Louis upgrade
USA: Amtrak services between Chicago and St Louis have been suspended for 15 days from October 16 to permit major track and signalling renewals on the 455 km corridor, which is being upgraded for 177 km/h operation. This follows four previous eight-day blockades in 2012-15, with further closures expected in ...
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NewsTrinity Industries and Element Financial extend wagon alliance
USA: On October 14 the TrinityRail Asset Management Co subsidiary of Trinity Industries announced an extension of its alliance agreement with Element Financial Corp, which expects to acquire additional wagons leased to third parties worth up to $1bn in 2016-19. As with purchases made under the existing alliance agreed in ...
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NewsAppalachian buys FreightCar America repair business
USA: Appalachian Railcar Services subsidiary ARS Nebraska bought FreightCar America’s wagon repair and maintenance business on September 30, paying $20·0m in cash and assuming certain liabilities. President & CEO Kurt Higginbotham said the deal was ‘a great moment’ in the history of ARS, which since 2000 has expanded into ...
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NewsProgress Rail buys fuel injection system supplier
USA: Progress Rail Services has acquired Haynes Corp, which manufactures precision diesel fuel injection systems for heavy duty engines. Products includes injection pumps, injector assembles, nozzles, delivery valves, plungers, barrels and electronic injectors. Haynes also undertakes contract manufacturing. ‘This acquisition is a good strategic fit to expand our offering of ...
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NewsPueblo wagon repair plant announced
USA: Wagon repair company Freedom Railcar Solutions and International Engineering have announce plans to develop a full-service wagon repair and modification facility in Pueblo, Colorado, by January 2017. This would offer services for tank and other wagons including interior cleaning, repairs, modification, exterior painting, interior lining and fabrication. The ...
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NewsEMD unveils its first Tier 4 diesel locomotive
USA: The first of six pre-production Tier 4 compliant diesel locomotives being built by the Electro-Motive Diesel subsidiary of Progress Rail Services was unveiled at the Railway Interchange 2015 exhibition in Minneapolis on October 4. On show at the outdoor display in BNSF’s Northtown Yard, the SD70ACe-T4 locomotive is powered ...
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NewsCanadian Pacific acquires steel transloading business
CANADA: Canadian Pacific Railway has acquired Steelcare Inc, which operates Canada's largest steel transloading facility at CP's Aberdeen yard in Hamilton, Ontario. The transaction announced on September 29 includes TransCare Logistics Corp, Prometheus Six and East Port Warehousing & Distribution businesses. The Plant Six site in Hamilton has two ...
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NewsProgress Rail to buy Rail Product Solutions
USA: Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail Services Corp announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to purchase track fastening supplier Rail Product Solutions Inc from Amsted Rail Co on September 29. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition ‘expands our portfolio of track related products and ...