Ontario Northland to speed up locomotive overhauls

The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) has obtained new line boring equipment for locomotive overhaul projects.

Line boring is a mechanical procedure for overhauling locomotives and other industrial engines. The procedure restores worn or damaged bores, returns the engine to proper alignment and corrects bore centers.

Previously, such work was shipped out of the country, which added five to seven weeks to an overhaul project. Use of the new equipment will help cut the timeline for engine overhauls, increase efficiency, and retain expertise and work in Canada, ONTC officials said in a press release.

Ontario Northland Railway is now the only railroad in Canada to offer in-house line boring capabilities to external customers, including engine overhauls for marine, power generation and other transportation providers, they claim.

The line boring machine is a portable computerized unit that can drive multiple different cutting heads, enabling ONTC to work on a greater variety of engine types, said Dan Monfils, senior manager of Ontario Northland's locomotive repair shop.