Rail supplier news from AllTranstek, Progress Rail, GE and Siemens (Oct. 6)

AllTranstek LLC announced several organizational changes, including the promotion of Jeffery Wilson from chief operating officer to president. The firm will conduct a nationwide search to fill the COO position. Also, Richard Kloster, who has led the company’s strategic and technical services group for the past three years, has been promoted to senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
The changes were made to better meet the needs of a growing client base, develop new tools for clients, and further expand the company, according to an AllTranstek press release.

Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corp., is displaying its first Tier 4 freight locomotive at Railway Interchange at BNSF Railway Co.’s Northtown Yard in Minneapolis. Featuring a 12-cylinder engine, the SD70ACe-T4 includes a high performance AC traction system, isolated powertrain, radial bogies, individual axle control, advanced electronics and an enlarged cab designed for crew ergonomics and safety. The company plans to have these locomotives available in the second half of 2016, which is earlier than previously announced.

GE Transportation is showcasing several digital technologies at Railway Interchange 2015 in Minneapolis this week, including its Trip Optimizer. The company has delivered over 500 Evolution Series Tier 4 compliant locomotives to North American customers, and its Trip Optimizer autopilot control system for railroads has accumulated 100 million auto-control miles. This results in significant emissions reductions to customers, according to a GE press release.

Also at the Railway Interchange in Minneapolis this week, Siemens introduced RailFusion, a software solution that monitors and analyzes data points across a railroad’s entire infrastructure, including onboard and wayside assets like road crossings and end-of-train devices. The software is designed to remotely monitor and capture data from Siemens and third-party devices located on the infrastructure, according to a Siemens news release. By inserting intelligence behind the captured data, the software can evolve to include predictive capabilities that will help railroads identify trends to better plan their operations and fix issues before they become a problem, resulting in greater time and cost savings.