Rail supplier news from TRAC Interstar, Bombardier, BSM and Peerless Electronics (March 28)

Union Pacific Railroad has named TRAC Interstar its preferred national provider of emergency road service in the United States. Motor carriers can select TRAC Interstar when calling UP's road service number. The agreement went into effect March 12. A subsidiary of TRAC Intermodal, TRAC Interstar provides emergency road service repair solutions for intermodal and commercial trucking industries. The company's call center uses a proprietary dispatch system to provide quick response times and comprehensive repair services, TRAC Intermodal officials said in a press release.

Bombardier Transportation has received an order from Transport for London (TfL) for five additional Aventra trains on the Elizabeth Line. The new units bring TfL's total order to 70 trains. The $104 million agreement also includes an expansion of an existing train services agreement to cover the new units, Bombardier officials said in a press release. Slated to open in December, the Elizabeth Line will connect Reading and Heathrow International Airport in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. The additional trains will enable TfL to serve all terminals at Heathrow and provide more frequent service.

BSM Technologies and Lat-Lon LLC next month will present the BSM Technology Innovation Award to Don Loftis, principal software engineer at Olin Corp. The honor recognizes leadership and innovation in implementing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in the rail industry. Loftis aggregates multiple asset data inputs within Olin and assesses large amounts of data in pursuit of improving ride quality and safety in rail, BSM officials said in a press release. Over the past decade, Loftis also has been focused on crisis management in rail and developing optimal track-and-trace solutions for his company. BSM will present the award at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's Connections Show on April 8.

Peerless Electronics Inc. has signed an agreement to distribute DRI's product line, which includes electromechanical hermetically sealed relays, time delay devices, and mating sockets. Peerless' knowledge of the transportation, aerospace and military markets align with those at DRI, said Peerless Electronics President William Gallucci in a press release. Peerless also will provide products and value-added services. The company is a distributor of switches, relays and circuit breaker products.