Rail supplier news from National Steel Car, Duostech, RailWorks, SmartDrive and Miller Ingenuity (June 23)

Canpotex Ltd. selected National Steel Car to manufacture 700 new rail cars designed to transport Saskatchewan potash to coastal ports. The cars' design has allowed Canpotex to optimize the number of metric tons per car and maximize the number of rail cars per unit train, company officials said in a press release. The cars are valued at an estimated $70 million (in Canadian dollars).

Information Systems Associates Inc. and its subsidiary Duos Technologies Inc (Duestech) have been awarded a contract to complete the next phase of a rail undercarriage screening system research grant. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has provided funding for the grant. The contract represents the next step in the company's attempt to advance its freight-car undercarriage screening technology to rail mass transit systems. It is also expected to expand the capabilities of Duostech's Vehicle undercarriage Examiner vue™ system.

Scott Brace recently retired from his post as president of RailWorks Track Systems. He was instrumental in the growth of Railroad Service Inc., which he sold to RailWorks in 1998, RailWork officials said in a press release. With Brace at the helm, RailWorks grew substantially and took on a number of projects, including SunRail, the Tucson Streetcar, several Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority projects and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Blue Line, RailWorks officials said. He has worked in the rail industry for more than 40 years.

SmartDrive Systems' video-based safety program has been optimized for passenger rail agencies. Rail-specific capabilities have been incorporated into the SmartDrive safety solutions to support agencies' efforts to comply with regulations mandating video cameras onboard. The company began to deploy the technology last week at a major light-rail operator in California.

Miller Ingenuity won a multimillion-dollar, multi-year parts deal with a Class I. Miller's staff worked on-site and at the customer's headquarters to problem solve leaking gear cases on locomotives. Due to contract restrictions, the company didn't disclose the customer's name.