Rail supplier news from EMD, Alstom, Bombardier, Red Hat, Savage, OmniTRAX Logistics and Timken (Sept. 20)

Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) recently delivered three SD70ACe demonstrator locomotives to the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad Co. (A&M), representing the short line's first AC-traction locomotives. The vehicles are certified to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 3 emissions standard. The locomotives, which are ideal for the railroad's operations, will enable the short line to retire several older locomotives, said A&M Chairman Reilly McCarren in a press release.

Alstom's Savigliano manufacturing plant in Italy has delivered the body shells of the first eight additional Pendolino ETR 610 trains ordered by Swiss railway operator SBB in July 2012. The first trainset recently started the fitting phase and the first body shells of the second train are being assembled. Two trains are scheduled to be delivered to SBB in late 2014. In spring 2015, SBB expects to operate the trains on the Gotthard line for EuroCity trains to Milan.

Bombardier Transportation has presented the first Flexity 2 tram for the Gold Coast Light Rail Transit system in Australia. Bombardier is responsible for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of the light-rail project. The first phase will connect Gold Coast University Hospital to Broadbeach. The line will be serviced by a fleet of 14 seven-module Flexity 2 trams, which Bombardier will deliver over the next four months, according to a company press release.

Red Hat Inc. and Meteorcomm have collaborated to deploy Meteorcomm's interoperable positive train control (PTC) communications solution with Red Hat JBoss messaging technologies and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The deployment initiatives will support ongoing railroad efforts to implement PTC in day-to-day operations, according to a Red Hat press release.

Savage announced the expansion of the Bakken Petroleum Services Hub in Trenton, N.D. The terminal recently added oil country tubular goods storage, transloading, trucking, threading, inspection, and clean and drift services for oil and gas producers in the Williston Basin. The new capabilities complement the company's crude-by-rail transloading and other oilfield logistics services previously deployed in Trenton, company officials said in a press release.

Brett Sorrells, Dennis Wierzbicki and Scott Eubank have joined OmniTRAX Logistics Services L.L.C. as trainload regional directors. Sorrells previously worked for FedEx Express Canada and CN, where he grew rail-car volumes in the Alaskan market, and rail shipments in the Canadian oil sands and other Western Canada locations. Wierzbicki, a former chief engineering officer with the U.S. Navy, has held numerous roles in sales, marketing and management during his 25-year career. Eubank has worked for USF Bestway, Averitt Express and CN Worldwide North America, where he developed non-rail solutions for customers. An OmniTRAX Inc. subsidiary, OmniTRAX Logistics Services operates a crude oil truck-to-rail terminal in Colorado and is developing other facilities slated to open in 2014.

The Timken Co. has appointed Mark Stangl to business manager of rail. Stangl joined the company in 1997 as an automotive customer engineer. He also has served as senior application engineer, principal sales engineering, product manager and regional manager. Most recently, Stangl was manager of product management for the company's after-market business.