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Today, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and International Union of Railways (UIC) jointly announced that 43 projects in 11 nations have won 2011 Brunel Awards in the international railway design competition, which was held in Washington, D.C., and attracted more than 150 entries. Nineteen projects received Brunel Awards, the highest level of recognition, and 24 others received commendations.

Brunel Awards recognize excellence in railway architecture; engineering; landscape and environmental, locomotive and car, and product design; graphic arts; and corporate branding. Honorary co-chairs of the awards committee are Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo and AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Edward Hamberger.

"This year‘s submissions from the rail industry are evidence of the tremendous commitment to quality in design and expertise in building and maintaining a true 21st Century rail network,” said Hamberger in a prepared statement.

Five projects in the United States and five in Japan won Brunel Awards, while projects also were recognized in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The five U.S. projects are: the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Amtrak station in Wilmington, Del.; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority stations in Fort Washington, Ambler and North Wales; MTA Metro-North Railroad’s Croton Harmon locomotive and car shop; the Union Station bike transit center in Washington, D.C.; and Union Pacific Railroad’s heritage locomotive fleet program. U.S. projects that received commendations are the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Massachusetts Avenue and Columbia Road bridges, Norfolk Southern Railway’s Heartland Corridor intermodal route and Amtrak’s Superliner I coach overhaul program.

Founded in 1963, the Brunel Awards are sanctioned by the Watford Group of International Railway Designers, an organization comprising railway design professionals from 20 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The official award ceremony will be held Oct. 14 in Washington, D.C. The competition was held in the United States for the first time since 1994.

Meanwhile, UP also received some recognition from a shipper. Heinz North America recently honored the Class I as its 2011 Carrier of the Year for outstanding performance in transporting refrigerated and canned products. The railroad’s efforts surpassed those of motor carriers — which historically have won the award — primarily because of how it helped transport Ore-Ida® frozen potatoes from Ontario, Ore., to eastern U.S. markets, UP officials said in a prepared statement.

By switching from trucks to rail, Heinz saved 600,000 gallons of fuel, cut carbon dioxide emissions by 44 percent and diverted 2,000 trucks from U.S. highways in the past year, according to UP.