North America – Page 94
-
NewsCSX and GE to test LNG locomotives
USA: A pilot programme to assess the use of liquefied natural gas to fuel locomotives was announced by CSX Corp and GE Transportation on November 13. Field tests are scheduled to begin in 2014. GE Transportation will supply its NextFuel retrofit kits which provide dual-fuel capability for Evolution Series locomotives. ...
-
NewsMajor customer buys Seaboard Railcar Repair
USA: The Trinity Railcar Repair subsidiary of Trinity Industries announced its acquisition of Seaboard Railcar Repair on November 4. Seaboard provides maintenance, specialised cleaning, lining, painting, inspection and testing services for tank cars and other wagons. The acquisition includes two maintenance facilities in Oklahoma and North Carolina. Trinity's wagon leasing ...
-
NewsCalifornia High Speed Rail Authority invites interest in second construction package
USA: On October 10 California High Speed Rail Authority invited requests to qualify for the second design and build contract for the Initial Operating Section of the San Francisco - Los Angeles high speed line. Estimated to cost $1·5bn to $2bn, Construction Package 2-3 covers the 96 km section south ...
-
NewsCSX energy efficiency studies
USA: An MBA student at the Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary, Virginia, has undertaken a range of energy efficiency studies for US Class I railway CSX in his role with the Environmental Defense Fund's Climate Corps. Hanyan Wu focused on the installation of ...
-
NewsMetrolinx orders Tier 4 MotivePower locomotives
CANADA: Greater Toronto transport authority Metrolinx has signed a US$63m contract for MotivePower to supply 10 diesel-electric locomotives for use on commuter services from 2016. Each locomotive is to be fitted with two engines meeting Tier 4 emissions standards, providing redundancy of major systems and the option to save fuel ...
-
NewsIcahn Enterprises forms wagon leasing joint venture
USA: Icahn Enterprises and its Chairman Carl Icahn announced an agreement to a form a wagon leasing joint venture, American Railcar Leasing (New ARL), on September 25. IEP is to contribute cash and wagons worth $737m in exchange for a 75% stake in New ARL, and is expecting to generate ...
-
NewsGE trials Tier 4 locomotive technology
USA: GE Transportation is testing what it says is the first diesel locomotive to meet the Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 4 emission standards without the use of any type of after-treatment. The Tier 4 standards were announced in 2004 and are due to come into force on January 1 2015. ...
-
NewsCN to take over Kelowna Pacific Railway operations
CANADA: CN has announced agreements to restart freight services in southern British Columbia which ceased when Kelowna Pacific Railway Ltd entered receivership on July 5. The short line had leased the network from CN in 1999. On September 27 CN said it had reached 'mutually satisfactory' agreements with Kelowna Pacific ...
-
NewsCummins announces Tier 4 demonstrator locomotive
USA: Cummins Engine Co announced on September 29 that it is to launch a demonstrator locomotive for its new QSK95 diesel engine, which is expected to start trial running in the second half of 2014. Speaking at the Railway Interchange exhibition in Indianapolis, Cummins' Vice-President & General Manager for the ...
-
NewsThe Andersons completes Mile Rail acquisition
USA: The Andersons Inc has purchased wagon cleaning and repair company Mile Rail. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Mile Rail also has facilities in Nebraska and Indiana as well as mobile units in the central Midwest. 'The addition of Mile Rail complements our existing railcar repair network and ...
-
NewsNew York MTA places framework order for commuter EMUs
USA: New York MTA has placed a framework order worth $1·8bn with Kawasaki Rail Car for the supply of up to 676 multi-system commuter rail EMU cars. Designated M-9, the trains would be designed for use by MTA’s two suburban operations, Metro-North which runs north into Connecticut from New York’s ...
-
NewsTrack renewals to accelerate passenger services in eastern Michigan
USA: Work began on September 9 on the first element of a three-stage programme to raise speeds over 50 km of mixed-traffic railway in Michigan as part of a wider initiative to accelerate passenger services between Detroit and Chicago. Much of the work will focus on track renewals between Jackson ...
-
NewsPhase One of National Gateway completed
USA: The ‘on-time, on-budget’ completion of Phase One of the National Gateway programme was announced on September 5, enabling double-stack intermodal services to be operated between the CSX terminals in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and North Baltimore, Ohio. Enlarging bridges and tunnels to accommodate double-stack trains between the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, the ...
-
NewsTri-Rail operating contract extended
USA: South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has exercised an option for Veolia Transportation to operate Tri-Rail passenger services for a further three years. The operating contract began in July 2007 and will now run to June 2017. Tri-Rail serves a 116 km corridor between West Palm Beach and Miami, including ...
-
NewsVossloh to open US rail fastening factory
USA: Vossloh announced plans to establish a rail fastening factory in Waco, Texas, on August 28. Production is scheduled to begin in mid-2014, creating 50 jobs. The company said opening a manufacturing plant in the USA would enable it to meet the Buy America domestic production requirements of US public ...
-
NewsColton Crossing grade separation completed
USA: The Colton Crossing grade separation project to remove a flat crossing between north-south BNSF and east-west Union Pacific tracks in southern California has been completed 'significantly under budget and ahead of schedule', state transport agency Caltrans and San Bernardino Associated Governments announced on August 26. Skanska was lead contractor ...
-
NewsBlast and paint shop built
USA: The Airblast AFC joint venture of UK-based blast booth supplier Airblast Ltd and US spray booth and painting equipment company AFC Finishing Systems has recently supplied a US$1·4m wagon painting facility to a customer in Ohio. This includes blast, paint and drying booths 27 m long and 9 m ...
-
NewsGreenbriar Equity Group acquires Nordco
USA: Track maintenance equipment supplier Nordco Inc announced on August 19 that it had been acquired by private equity investor Greenbriar Equity Group. Terms were not disclosed. Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP acted as legal counsel to Greenbriar Equity Group. Nordco has its headquarters in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and supplies ...
-
NewsGreenbrier to maintain CIT Rail wagons
USA: The Greenbrier Companies is to provide leasing company CIT Rail with dedicated access to wagon repair capacity at its Atchison, Kansas, workshop under an agreement announced on August 12. The deal could be extended to include additional Greenbrier facilities across the USA. The companies will collaborate to match CIT ...
-
NewsStates seek standard fleet of diesel locomotives
USA: Illinois Department of Transportation issued a request for proposals for the supply of 32 diesel-electric passenger locomotives on August 8. A winning bidder is expected to be selected in early 2014, with deliveries in 2016-17. The RFP was issued by IDOT as the leader of a group of states ...