Rail supplier news from Railtech Boutet, Industrial Television Services, Thales and PTV (Dec. 14)

The merger and integration of Railtech Matweld into Railtech Boutet has been finalized. As of Jan. 1, 2017, Railtech Matweld will be conducting business as Railtech Boutet. The move is aimed at better positioning the combined organization to provide solutions and service to customers, according to a Railtech Boutet press release.

Industrial Television Services (ITS) has implemented its TransitPort travel information system at the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center in Syracuse, N.Y. TransitPort screens show departure times and destinations for Amtrak trains, Greyhound buses and local mass transit. There are seven screens mounted in the Amtrak lobby, the central information center, the Greyhound/Trailways counter, food court and other areas. The networked ITS system also supports multiple LED displays at bus departure doors, according to a company press release. The TransitPort system is cloud based, which enables managers to continuously update travel schedule displays remotely from mobile devices.

TransLink's recently opened SkyTrain extension features Thales' SelTrac™ driverless train control. The 6.8-mile Evergreen extension opened Dec. 2 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thales' technology is equipped on the entire SkyTrain network, including the Canada Line. At 50 miles, SkyTrain is one of the longest driverless urban railroads in the world.

PTV Group received the "innovation award" at GE's fifth annual Minds + Machines 2016 event. The award serves as a symbol of the company's "innovation, as well as a bright future in the transportation and technology industries," said Shaleen Srivastava, vice president of traffic for PTV America. PTV has partnered with GE subsidiary Current to develop digital infrastructure aimed at optimizing the flow of traffic. PTV focuses on planning and optimizing systems that move both people and goods, according to a company press release.