The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has approved Railroad Software’s TrackAsset application for electronic capture of signal inspections, as outlined in FRA 49 CFR §§ 234.273 and 236.110. TrackAsset “provides visibility for signal maintainers and maintenance-of-way employees to easily track upcoming inspections and generate work orders to complete them,” the company says.
nVent Electric PLC, (nVent) a new corporation that recently separated from Pentair as an independent, publicly-traded company (NYSE: NVT), offers the industry several well-known brands that are now part of the nVent railway portfolio.
Southern California’s North County Transit District (NCTD) wants public input on a new paint scheme for the Coaster regional/commuter rail locomotives and cars, a redesign of the agency’s GoNCTD.com website, and new NCTD logo.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has awarded an Illinois Competitive Freight Program (ICFP) grant to the City of Peru, Ill. and OmniTRAX, Inc.-managed Peru Industrial Railroad (PIR) to help fund the Peru Intermodal, Safety, Congestion and Energy Security Project (PISCES). The funds will be used to improve the PIR, which operates a small but vital three miles of track, providing switching services for the Peru Industrial Park, part of the City of Peru Enterprise Zone. PIR interchanges with OmniTRAX-managed Illinois Railway and BNSF.
Mostly solid quarterly financial results and a spate of new orders for freight car builders show a market that’s stable and growing.
TRAC Intermodal President and CEO Keith Lovetro has retired, and Jennifer Polli has replaced him, effective Aug. 1, 2018.
In a Bentley Systems On-Demand Tech Talk, rail and transit expert Taylor Gilmore discusses how Bentley’s OpenRail Asset Reliability Transit Facility Condition Assessment tools can help transit agencies achieve a state of good repair (SGR) and comply with the Federal Transit Administration’s Transit Facility Condition Assessment requirements.
Freight rail traffic “continues to reflect the strength of the U.S. economy across all major industry sectors, with 15 of the 20 commodity categories we track having higher carloads in July 2018 than in July 2017,” said Association of American Railroads Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics John T. Gray noted as the AAR presented U.S. figures for the week ending July 28, 2018, as well as volumes for July 2018. “July saw especially strong gains in commodities related to the energy sector—and also in categories tied to consumer spending, including automotive and intermodal traffic. Still of concern, though, is the potential negative impacts that could result from the ongoing discussions around trade.”
The Andersons Inc. on Aug. 1 signed a $2.2 million agreement to purchase FreightCar America Inc.’s Danville Railcar Facility, Danville, Ill. The company intends to turn the now-shuttered freight car manufacturing plant into a full-service freight and tank railcar repair shop.
Rajant Corp., a provider of mobile wireless mesh networks, has entered into a strategic partnership with Wabtec Corp. to jointly develop and market Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh® wireless networking products to rail operators worldwide. Wabtec has made a minority equity investment in Rajant.
