Rail supplier news from United Rail, Alliance Shippers, Gannett Fleming and TranSystems (Dec. 5)

United Rail Inc. has formed a partnership with Amberg Technologies to represent the Swiss company's rail systems and products in the North American freight- and passenger-rail markets. As part of the deal, United Rail will perform sales and marketing functions on Amberg's behalf in North America. United Rail also will provide localized customer service for the various systems and products to better support rail operators, according to a press release issued by the company. Meanwhile, United Rail last month announced a similar partnership with Sweden-based Prover Technology, which provides software for the engineering of safety critical systems that control trains, signals and switches. Under that agreement, United Rail acts as a sales agent for Prover Technology in the North American market. Prover Technology's customer base in North America includes MTA New York City Transit and Canadian Pacific.

Alliance Shippers Inc. late last month announced its recertification with the SmartWay® Transport Partnership, which is a collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and industry. The partnership provides a framework to assess the environmental and energy efficiency of goods as they move through supply chains, according to an Alliance press release. The agreement has more than 3,000 participants, including shippers and logistics companies, as well as rail, truck, barge and multimodal carriers.

The Regional Transportation District of Denver's commuter-rail maintenance facility was named innovative project of the year by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Central Pennsylvania. The building was the first commuter-rail maintenance facility in the United States to earn the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard, according to a Gannett Fleming press release. The engineering consulting company worked on the building. Gannett Fleming officials accepted the award at the USGBC's 2016 "Forever Green" awards held last month.

TranSystems Corp. has announced its newest partners in the firm. The appointments recognize professionals who've made outstanding contributions to the company's success and growth, have demonstrated in-depth industry knowledge and have proven the ability to work effectively across the organization, according to a TranSystems release. Newly named company principals include Paul Hentschke, who has 20 years of experience in rail design and operations; Ashok Athalye; Richard Markwith; Greg Murphy; Tim Rock; and Ayman Salama.