Rail supplier news from Vertex, Trainyard Tech, Duos, RATP Dev and Louis Berger-Egis (June 14)

Vertex Railcar Corp. has received an order from Trinity Chemical for 350 coiled and insulated DOT-117 tank cars for use in the crude oil and chemical markets. By Jan. 31,  2018, Vertex will deliver 50 cars from its plant in Wilmington, N.C., with the remainder to be delivered within two years from that date. The order is Vertex's second in the past two months, according to a Vertex press release. The other order is for 100 DOT-117 ethanol tank cars, which will be built and delivered from the Wilmington plant later this year.

Trainyard Tech LLC obtained a contract from BNSF Railway Co. to install the Routemaster™ NX process control system at Cherokee Yard in Tulsa, Okla. The system comes with a custom graphical user interface that displays the real-time status of all yard devices. Multiple user workstations located throughout the terminal provide consistent data points and direct control for operators and supervisors, Trainyard Tech officials said in a press release. Meanwhile, the company is in the final stages of installing and testing the newest Classmaster™ system at CSX's Queensgate Yard in Cincinnati. The system uses bi-directional wheel detectors at all switch points to determine the direction and velocity of a rolling car, which provides more presence detection than is possible with track circuits, according to the company.

MTA New York City Transit will use Duos Technologies Group Inc.'s proprietary praesidium® analytics software as part of a track intrusion detection pilot program. Under the pilot, NYCT is evaluating various technologies and will select one to roll out across its subway system. Between January 2011 and February 2013, NYCT endured more than 350 track-related incidents, of which 129 were fatalities, according to Duos Technologies.

RATP Dev North America and McDonald Transit Associates have appointed Mike Anderson vice president of safety and security. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, he will lead all of RATP Dev North America's rail and bus safety and security initiatives, according to a company press release. Anderson previously worked at a regional airline, where he was instrumental in the design and implementation of its safety and security program. He later became senior director of safety at a national carrier.

Louis Berger and Egis announced a new partnership aimed at meeting project development and delivery needs for mass transit, rail and freight owners and operators in North America. The Louis Berger-Egis joint venture debuted at the American Public Transportation Association's Rail Conference in Baltimore, which ends today. The two companies have collaborated on mass transit and rail projects worldwide for more than a decade.