Pandrol, a global supplier of rail fastening systems and aluminothermic welding, has signed multi-year distributor partnership agreements with two Railway Supply Group companies: Chicago-based Industry-Railway Suppliers, Inc. (IRS), a leading U.S. distributor of rail track tools, abrasives and products for railway construction and maintenance; and Canadian railroad distributor Davanac, Inc.
Biarri Rail, a Victoria, Australia-based global provider of planning and scheduling software for freight railroads, has landed a major North American contract with Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) for Boss MP Loco, its cloud-based locomotive master planning software. The company has a U.S. office in Chicago led by CEO Tom Forbes.
The Railway Supply Institute (RSI) is now accepting 2018/2019 school year applications for its annual RSI undergraduate scholarship, which has been renamed the Thomas D. Simpson Annual Undergraduate Scholarship in honor of RSI’s newly retired president.
Mike O’Malley began his tenure as President of the Railway Supply Institute (RSI) on Feb. 1, 2018 taking over for Tom Simpson, who has retired.
OmniTRAX Inc.’s Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub has been certified a GRAD (Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development) site by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the state’s marketing and sales arm. OmniTRAX is developing the 2,700-acre tract in Effingham County, Ga., in partnership with the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority (ECIDA).
California Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the statewide transportation funding legislation signed into law in 2017, is now providing Caltrain with funding necessary to continue work on Caltrain Electrification, a key component of the Caltrain Modernization Program (CalMod) to electrify the Caltrain corridor from San Francisco’s 4th and King Station to approximately the Tamien Station in San Jose, and convert diesel-hauled trains to EMUs (electric multiple units).
Despite a significant slowing in commodity traffic during the second half of last year, demand for railcars was relatively stable in the fourth quarter, according to the most recent report from Economic Planning Associates. After 8,671 cars were ordered in the third quarter, orders for 8,501 cars were placed in the fourth quarter.
Union Pacific on Feb. 1 unveiled its Community Ties Giving Program, which increases its overall charitable giving to more than $20 million. Designed to support two primary areas—Local Grants and Key Partnerships—UP’s philanthropic outreach “aligns with its longstanding commitment to Building America,” the railroad said.
GE Transportation’s Contagem, Brazil, locomotive assembly plant is operating with a mixed-model moving assembly line, which GE calls “a new approach to manufacturing locomotives.”
Kimberly Slaughter has joined HNTB Corp. as transit/rail market sector leader. She brings 30 years of comprehensive experience in transportation and public transit. Based in HNTB’s Chicago office, Slaughter will work with transit clients across the country.
