Rail supplier updates from ENSCO, Water Train, MobileQubes and NRC (Aug. 20)

ENSCO Rail obtained a contract to provide a paperless track inspection solution for Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc. (G&W). Known as the Digital Track Notebook, ENSCO's product will provide track inspectors at G&W-owned railroads with a Web-based application to conduct track inspections electronically. The Web application enables workers to automatically schedule inspections, log inspections and defects electronically, and create inspection reports for the Federal Railroad Administration and Transport Canada.

Water Train Inc., an operating unit of Modoc Railroad, began solicitations of private entities and municipal governments to participate in the operation of a water test train. The test train will contain 190,000 gallons of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved, treated and cleaned water designed for agricultural or groundwater recharge use. Although the train will arrive too late in the year for most row and stone fruit crops, it will give potential water train users time to identify and develop unloading and distribution sites, company officials said in a press release.

Amtrak partnered with MobileQubes to provide passengers with portable battery rentals for mobile devices in Chicago's Union Station. The devices allow users to charge their devices without plugging into a stationary outlet. The national passenger railroad established the partnership in response to commuters' demands and "after extensive due diligence," MobileQubes officials said in a press release.

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) appointed Lindsey Collins its new vice president of grassroots advocacy, a position previously held by Ashley Bosch. Collins' primary role will be to facilitate meetings between lawmakers in Congress and NRC member companies to highlight how those companies are "positively affecting the rail industry, and the local and national economy," NRC officials said in a press release. She joins the association from the Eno Center for Transportation, where she managed fundraising efforts for projects and working groups, including the Freight Working Group.