K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) has accepted the first of 200 railcars built by National Steel Car (NSC) in Hamilton, Ontario, for domestic use. These cars will transport potash from the company’s Bethune mine in Saskatchewan to North American clients.
VTG Rail Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of VTG AG, has acquired the fleet of U.S. railcar leasing company Redwood Rail LLC. The transaction, which adds 1,135 railcars to VTG’s fleet, enlarging it to about 5,200 units, includes the leases associated with those cars as well Redwood Rail’s existing customer relationships.
Dr. Axel Nitschke has been named a tunnel practice leader in the Washington, D.C. office of WSP USA (formerly WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff). Nitschke will be a member of the firm’s geotechnical and tunnel technical excellence center and will work on tunnel projects and lead the firm’s practice on the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM).
RailPros Field Services, a provider of railroad engineering and field support, has named Terry Tate as Assistant Vice President of Rail Operations. He will focus on the expansion of existing projects and the development of new business ventures.
CSX subsidiary TDSI (Total Distribution Services Inc.) has awarded Road & Rail Services, Inc., a Louisville, Ky.-based provider of rail and automotive services in North America, the Terminal Excellence Award and named it Terminal of the Month of April for its Walbridge, Ohio location.
RATP Dev North America and McDonald Transit Associates, its North American subsidiary, have appointed veteran airline industry executive Mike Anderson as Vice President of Safety and Security. Based in Fort Worth, Tex., he will be leading all of RATP Dev North America’s rail and bus safety and security initiatives.
The Surface Transportation Board Regulatory Reform Task Force (RRTF) will host a public “listening session” (hearing) on July 25, 2017 “to hear stakeholders’ views on streamlining the agency’s regulations.”
Kyle Kirsten Hicks Fortson will be nominated by President Trump for one of two Republican seats on the National Mediation Board (NMB), according to a White House press release June 20. If formally nominated and confirmed by the Senate, she will inherit the remainder of a three-year term expiring July 1, 2019.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has notified the 30 U.S. states where rail transit systems operate that federal law requires they establish an FTA-certified State Safety Oversight (SSO) Program by April 15, 2019, otherwise they risk losing funds.
Larry Stockton and Robert Olin, two veteran rail industry executives who earlier this year launched 360 Rail Services, LLC, a new venture providing engineering, design, construction, maintenance, logistics and transloading services to rail shippers across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, have acquired Railroad Specialties Inc., a Centennial, Colo.-based railroad design, construction, maintenance and repair company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
