Rail supplier news from Siemens, RESIDCO, Bombardier, Dewberry, Burns, AVENTICS and Railway Interchange 2015 (Oct. 3)

Siemens obtained a 15-year technical support and spare parts supply agreement from Amtrak for its 70 new Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotives in operation on the Northeast Corridor. The pact is Siemens’ largest technical support contract for passenger locomotives to-date in the United States, according to a Siemens press release. In 2010, the railroad ordered 70 Amtrak Cities Sprinter electric locomotives from Siemens. The first locomotives are already in passenger service.

RESIDCO has appointed Glenn Davis chief executive officer to succeed Vincent Kolber, who will continue to serve as chairman. Davis most recently was president of The Northern Trust Co. subsidiary NorLease Inc. He has more than 35 years of equipment leasing and structured finance industry experience. RESIDCO provides portfolio marketing, lease structuring, acquisition and remarketing services to lessors, and leasing services to railroad equipment and aircraft users.

The French National Railway Co. has received authorization from the French Public Establishment of Railway Safety for the commercial operation of the Regio 2N in single units. The approval allows for the first Regio 2N vehicles in the Aquitaine, Brittany, Centre, Nord-Pas de Calais, Provence-Alpes-Cote d' Azur and Rhone-Alpes regions. The Regio 2N features Bombardier Transportation's OMNEO double-deck train platform designed by teams in Crespin to meet the needs of French regions for seating capacity and service.

Dewberry has hired Andrew Schueller as assistant transportation department manager in the New York City office. He will manage transportation projects, mentor junior staff and oversee business opportunities in the New York area for private- and public-sector clients. Schueller has more than 26 years of engineering and construction experience related to transportation and infrastructure. Prior to joining Dewberry, he served as transportation manager at TY Lin International, working on large-scale infrastructure and transportation projects with such clients as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Burns Engineering Inc. has opened an office in Denver to support the Federal Transit Administration in the oversight of the Regional Transportation District’s East and Gold line commuter-rail project. The $2 billion project will connect downtown Denver with neighboring communities to the east and west.

AVENTICS Corp., the former subsidiary of Bosch Rexroth, recently marked the 50th anniversary of a manufacturing plant in Lexington, Ky. The facility produces NFPA pneumatic and hydraulic steel cylinders. The company's roots date back to Westinghouse Air Brake, and invention of the air brake in 1869 by George Westinghouse.

Booth space reservations are now open for indoor and outdoor exhibits at Railway Interchange 2015, which will be held Oct. 4-7, 2015, at the Minneapolis Convention Center and BNSF Railway Co.'s Northtown yard. Exhibits will be held Oct. 4-6, 2015. The exhibition will showcase the latest technology, services and research by members of the Railway Supply Institute, Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association and Railway Systems Suppliers Inc. The event also will feature technical and educational presentations and discussions by members of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association and the Coordinated Mechanical Associations. Railway Interchange is held every two years.