Iowa Interstate Railroad orders new GE locomotives

Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. (IAIS) will acquire three new Evolution Series locomotives from GE Transportation, the railroad announced yesterday.

The locomotives will be produced in early 2020 and used to transport grains, ethanol, metals and other commodities across Iowa Interstate's network between Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska.

"For over a decade, IAIS invested heavily in infrastructure to support our customers and increase safety. The purchase of these locomotives will help us remain competitive and poised for the growth we are currently experiencing," said IAIS President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Parsons in a press release.

The railroad's agreement with GE includes equipping the locomotives with GE Transportation's  GoLINC^™ Platform, Trip Optimizer^™ System and Distributed Power LOCOTROL^®. The products are part of GE's train performance product suite, which was designed to optimize power distribution, train handling, brake control and fuel utilization, GE officials said.

Additionally, the digital offerings will be installed on IAIS's existing Evolution Series fleet of 17 locomotives.

"Our technology solutions are driving improved productivity and reliability to IAIS's fleet and helping this valued customer move freight more efficiently," said Yuvbir Singh, GE Transportation's vice president of equipment.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Iowa Interstate is a subsidiary of RDC Domestic Holdings Corp., an affiliate of Railroad Development Corp. of Pittsburgh.