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• Southwest Signal Engineering has formed new subsidiary Xorail Construction Services L.L.C. to grow its railroad construction business. The company recently won bids for two large construction projects and is bidding for several others. Southwest Signal previously served as a subcontractor for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority's double-track project and Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's new signal communication system, and a contractor for various Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority projects.

• North Star Rail Intermodal L.L.C. subsidiary North Star Container International has opened an office in the greater Chicago area to serve grain and grain product shippers. North Star Container provides scheduled intermodal train service — involving several short lines — to enable shippers to commit specific quantities in advance to global customers. In the Chicago area, commodities are transloaded from trucks to containers at a number of terminals.

• On Sept. 14, Sweden's Gröna Tåget set a high-speed record at 188 mph on a Bombardier REGINA train conducting test runs between Töreboda and Skövde. During regular revenue service in Sweden, trains operate at a maximum speed of 124 mph. The test is part of a Swedish rail development project aimed at promoting rail transportation and increasing top speeds on existing tracks.

• Accenture obtained a multi-year contract from Amtrak to develop and implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to standardize key business operations. Accenture will develop a blueprint for Amtrak's strategic asset management initiative, a phased approach to streamlining business processes. Accenture also will provide solutions for Amtrak's ERP infrastructure and help consolidate a number of disparate information systems.

• SafeRack L.L.C. has introduced the Mobile Transloading Unit, which is designed to provide a safe and efficient transfer of liquid products between rail cars and tank trucks. The unit features a four-wheeled towable trailer and two operational sides, one for truck transloading and the other for rail-car transloading. The platform can be wheeled between a truck and rail car when transloading.