Supplier Spotlight (April 2008)

Mechanical

• CIT Group Inc. unit CIT Rail signed an operating lease agreement with Canpotex for 1,000 covered hopper cars, which the shipper will use to transport potash from Saskatchewan, Canada, to the West Coast.
• American Railcar Industries Inc. entered into a “non-binding memorandum of understanding” with Amtek Auto Ltd. to form one or more joint ventures to manufacture, sell and supply freight cars and components in India and other southeast Asian countries.
• Bombardier Transportation obtained a $229 million contract to supply 27 ALP-46A electric locomotives to New Jersey Transit.
• Alstom Transport obtained a $249.4 million contract to supply 18 six-car X’Trapolis trainsets to the state of Victoria, Australia, for use on the city of Melbourne’s rail system.

M&A

• Hatch Mott MacDonald acquired Railroad Technology Inc., a Sacramento, Calif.-based railroad and rail-transit specialty firm.
• Vossloh AG is acquiring Kloos Oving B.V., The Netherlands, which manufactures and markets track switches and components, and other rail infrastructure products. The deal is subject to approvals by the supervisory board and antitrust authorities.

‘Green’ power

• Wabtec Corp. subsidiary MotivePower recently introduced the MPEx, an ultra-low emissions switcher that features a multi-engine design. A Class I soon is expected to test the locomotive in revenue service.
• The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway completed a one-week operational test of a three-engine, 2,100-horsepower National Railway Equipment Co. N-ViroMotive® GenSet locomotive at the railroad’s Gary, Ind., switching yard.

Product line

• The Timken Co. recently added several products to its lubrication line, including grease guns, pumps and kits.

New image

• TTX Co. unveiled a new Tuscan-red logo paired with the words “Forward Thinking” to better reflect the company’s position in the rail industry.

C&S

• Global Rail Systems Inc. has installed and commissioned its Modular Yard Automation System for CSX Transportation’s Mobile, Ala., yard.
• RailComm Inc. obtained a contract to provide a wireless remote-control derail system for BNSF Railway Co.’s Pasco Yard in Washington State. The system will feature a workstation networked to an existing Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) server platform.
• Trainyard Tech L.L.C. obtained a contract from Norfolk Southern Railway to supply its CLASSMASTER™ process control system for the Class I’s Bellevue, Ohio, yard.

MOW

• Harsco Track Technologies obtained a contract from Israel Railways to implement a coordinated rail grinding services program that includes operating personnel, equipment and maintenance.

Transit biz

• Skanska USA Civil Southeast obtained a $41 million contract from Hampton Roads Transit to perform construction services for The Tide, a seven-mile light-rail line proposed between the Eastern Virginia Medical Center through downtown Norfolk, Va. Skanska’s contract covers construction of a 4.5-mile segment between Norfolk State University and Newton Road.
• STV/Ralph Whitehead Associates obtained a contract worth up to $30 million from the Charlotte, N.C., city council to provide planning, environmental and engineering services for an 11-mile LYNX Blue Line light-rail extension.

Short-line success

• Lat-Lon L.L.C. has sold more than 230 RailRider locomotive monitoring units to short lines.

Certification

• RFTrax’s Asset Command Unit has received Underwriters Laboratories’ UL^® 913 Intrinsically Safe Certification for operation in Class I, II and III, Division 1 hazardous locations — meaning, the wireless tracking device is approved for use on tank cars hauling flammable or explosive materials.
• For the fourth-straight year, Railinc has completed a Statement on Auditing Standards 70 Type II examination, which demonstrates the company’s controls have been suitably designed and placed in operation for securing and protecting data exchanges with Railinc customers, the company said.

Security

• Smiths Detection obtained a contract to supply SABRE 4000 advanced detection systems to Amtrak, which will use the portable explosives detection units to screen passengers, trains and stations for explosives. The hand-held system can detect explosives within 10 seconds.
• Duos Technologies Inc. obtained a contract from a “major railroad” to provide an intelligent video system securing a major rail bridge along the Delaware watershed, according to the company, which did not specify the railroad.

Marking a milestone

• Hi-rail equipment manufacturer Diversified Metal Fabricators recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Elbow room

• WAGO Corp. has expanded its North American headquarters in Germantown, Wis., increasing the spring pressure connection technology supplier’s manufacturing and storage capacity from 60,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet.