Sweeping management changes continue at WSP USA, the Montreal-based company that acquired Parsons Brinckerhoff and in May dropped the iconic PB name. Three key positions have been filled in the firm’s Northwest Pacific, West and Northern California areas.
On July 6, four days before major track refurbishment work begins at Pennsylvania Station New York, the nation’s busiest passenger rail facility, yet another incident—the third in four months—occurred when inbound New Jersey Transit North Jersey Coast Line train no. 3276 derailed as it was entering the station’s complex interlocking plant.
Great Western Railway Ltd., Saskatchewan, has acquired 150 grain hopper railcars from the Government of Saskatchewan, following a competitive bidding process. This is GWR’s first purchase of its kind since the railway’s inception, when it was formed from lines purchased from Canadian Pacific in 2000.
In the wake of Bombardier Transportation’s ongoing problems with light rail vehicles it’s building for various Ontario LRT projects, the purported combination of the railway businesses of Siemens and Bombardier appears to have taken on an interesting twist. This folllows the filing of an official protest letter by Siemens Canada with Ontario’s Transportation Minister over Metrolinx’s awarding of a single-source LRV contract to Alstom.
Demand for new freight cars is on the rise, and builders appear to be aggressively using pricing tools to take advantage of the recovery and retain or increase market share, according to market research conducted by Cowen and Company analyst Matt Elkott.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has awarded Kapsch TrafficCom AG, whose U.S. operation is based in McLean, Va., a contract worth approximately $11 million for a turnkey regional Mobile Ticketing System (MTS) that will allow MARTA riders to order, pay, and electronically validate tickets using their mobile smart devices via a mobile app as well as directly through the mobile ticketing website.
Leica Geosystems, a division of Hexagon Geosystems and a provider of measurement technology, has acquired rail measurement specialist InfraMeasure. The acquisition, which creates a new Rail division, provides Leica Geosystems entry into the North American rail market.
Thomas “Tom” Murta will be joining the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) as its Executive Director on July 10, 2017. He replaces Ron Hynes, who left SLSI in June.
The Siemens-built, Cummins QSK-95-powered Charger diesel-electric locomotives hauling All Aboard Florida’s Brightline higher-speed express passenger trains connecting West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami along the Florida East Coast Railway main line will be fueled with blended biodiesel under a two-year contract with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL).
AllEarth Rail, LLC of Vermont has named veteran railroad executive Charlie Moore as President.
