Rail supplier news from Wabtec, TRAC Intermodal and Hitachi Rail

Wabtec Corp. is investing $3.8 million to expand its operations and workforce in Brazil. Most of the expansion will occur in Contagem, where Wabtec has a locomotive factory, company officials said in a press release. There, Wabtec plans to open its first Latin American global engineering center in December and launch a new locomotive production line. It will house laboratories and workstations for more than 300 engineering positions, for which Wabtec is actively recruiting. The new center will increase the existing factory's production capacity by 28% Wabtec officials said. The company also plans to open logistics centers in Governador Valadares and Monte Alto this year. Those sites will expand Wabtec's shipping capacity and create room for growth in other business areas, such as maintenance of way, digital intelligence and components.

TRAC Intermodal as been named a 2025 top company for women to work for in transportation by Redefining the Road magazine. Criteria for selection include a company's work-life balance, training and professional development, compensation and benefits, gender diversity and career advancement opportunities, TRAC officials said in a press release. More than 21,000 transportation professionals voted to chose the winning companies. "Being recognized as an exceptional workplace for women for the third consecutive year — through the voices and participation of our employees — is a powerful reminder of the culture that we’re building at TRAC," said Laura Reeder, TRAC Intermodal executive vice president and chief human resources officer. "We’re proud to be a place where women lead, grow, and achieve their goals."

Hitachi Rail and Sistem have accepted a contract worth 126.5 million euros to install signal and traffic management systems on the second, 43.5-mile section of the Madrid-Extremadura high-speed rail line between Talayuela and Plasencia, Spain, Hitachi Rail officials said in a press release. Spain's high-speed rail line is managed by state-owned Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias. Hitachi and Sistem will install signaling technology, including interlockings; train protection systems; fixed telecommunications and a centralized traffic control system. The partners will also install the European rail traffic management system Level 2 signaling and train control system, using Hitachi Rail technology as the main operational base. The contract includes maintenance of all deployed equipment for four years.