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• On Friday, GE Transportation unveiled the prototype for its next Evolution® Series locomotive. The model will be the first locomotive in the rail industry to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Tier 4” emission standards, GE officials said in a prepared statement. The locomotive is designed to decrease emissions by more than 70 percent and save more than $1.5 billion in infrastructure and operational costs, they said. The locomotive is the result of an initial six-year, $600 million project to hone the research, design and engineering to meet Tier 4 standards, GE officials said.

• Last week, Whitmore Manufacturing Co. hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to launch construction on a 120,000-square-foot addition to a facility in Rockwall, Texas. The expansion will house corporate offices, research and development, a production area for the Air Sentry division and additional warehouse space, company officials said in a press release. Whitmore, which recently acquired United Kingdom-based QHi Rail Ltd., also will manufacture rail lubrication equipment at the Rockwall plant for the North American market under the name Whitmore Rail. The expansion will double the company’s headquarters, Whitmore officials said.

• CTC Inc. has been given the green light to begin upgrading 14 grade crossings on the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co. (W&LE) in Canton, Ohio. The project represents the “most complex design we have worked on to date” for the W&LE, said John Sharkey, CTC vice president of signal engineering, in a prepared statement. Construction will start in fall, with construction slated for completion in 2013. CTC has completed the engineering for the crossings, and material is being procured, Sharkey said. The Ohio Rail Development Commission authorized the project, which includes the installation of advance preemption devices at six crossings and gates at eight crossings.

• Amtrak has purchased rMetrix® ride performance assessment system equipment for performing vehicle evaluation, testing and analysis in California, according to a press released issued by dFuzion Inc. rMetrix is designed to measure and analyze real-time ride quality, safety and comfort metrics in accordance with worldwide standards, according to dFuzion. The system was the result of research initiated by the Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research and Development and dFuzion.

• Crossrail and Bentley Systems have launched the United Kingdom’s first dedicated information academy to provide hands-on training to the Crossrail supply chain on the latest technology and software being used to design and build the new railway, including Building Information Modeling (BIM). The academy will develop and share BIM best practices with the Crossrail supply chain. The increased use of BIM will support the government’s strategy for the construction industry by “creating a lasting legacy of best practice in innovation,” said Crossrail Chief Executive Andrew Wolstenholme in a prepared statement.

• The smart card system designed and delivered by Cubic Transportation Systems Australia for public transport in the Australian state of Queensland has reached a major milestone with the sale of the 3 millionth go card. System operator TransLink and the Queensland government rapidly grew the number of commuters using the card since it was introduced four years ago, said Tom Walker, managing director of Cubic Transportation Systems in Australasia, in a prepared statement. The card was fully deployed across TransLink rail lines, buses and ferries in 2008. Cubic Transportation Systems Australia is a division of Cubic Transportation Systems Inc.