Rail supplier news from voestalpine, TRAC, NRC, REMSA and Cambridge Systematics (May 9)

voestalpine Nortrak has reached a North American marketing and distribution agreement with Getzner USA to service freight railroads. Getzner engineers and produces groundborne noise and vibration reduction products for the rail industry, while voestalpine manufactures special trackwork, concrete ties, rail fastenings and switch machines. The agreement is aimed at increasing the "performance and longevity" of rail systems, voestalpine officials said in a press release.

To support continued cargo growth and demand for chassis at the Port of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), TRAC Intermodal is adding 700 new chassis to its Metro Pool. The company previously added thousands of refurbished chassis to the pool. More than 40 percent of TRAC's Metro Pool fleet has been upgraded with new or refurbished chassis, company officials said in a press release. TRAC provides 10 start/stop locations at PANYNJ, including two in Port Elizabeth and one in Bayonne, New Jersey.

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) has added Brett Urquhart and Curtis Bilow to its board. Urquhart, who in 2015 was recognized as one of Progressive Railroading's "Rising Stars" in the rail industry, serves as vice president of Rocla Concrete Tie Inc. and VP of Class I sales for Vossloh North America. (Vossloh acquired Rocla early last year.) Bilow is corporate director of freight rail and regional industrial manager for Ames Construction. A "steadfast advocate for the rail industry," Billow has participated in the Railroad Day on the Hill, NRC officials said in a press release.

The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) has announced an award program to send two college students to InnoTrans 2018 in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 18-21. The award includes round-trip airfare, admission to InnoTrans, hotel accommodations, a daily travel allowance and guided tours for students to exhibitors with job openings. The program is designed to "spark the interest of the future generation in rail and promote career opportunities within the rail industry," REMSA officials said in a press release. The deadline to apply is June 15. For more information, visit REMSA's scholarship page.

Cambridge Systematics has hired Sheri Coven as senior associate and office director in Tallahassee, Florida. She has more than 25 years of experience in transportation and community planning. Coven previously was senior vice president at Marlin Engineering, where she was office director and had expertise in transportation policy, planning and growth management.