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• RailComm has upgraded its existing yard system at BNSF Railway Co.’s Corwith’s mechanical facility in Chicago. RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) System is used to remotely control derails. The DOC® System includes a workstation that enables the user to monitor device status and review operation logs of system activity. The workstation displays a graphical representation of the yard area, and the user is able to view all the devices in the field, according to a press release.

• R. J. Corman Railpower Locomotives announced the award of a fourth 2,000-horsepower RP20BD GenSet locomotive for the Port of Montreal (POM). Following the recent delivery of POM’s first RP20BD in October 2010, the second unit is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter. Shortly before the sale was finalized, POM had independent testing conducted by an environmental consultant to analyze the performance of the RP20BD when compared with much older single-engine locomotives like the ones used at the port, according to a press release.

• Bombardier Transportation has selected Maxwell Technologies Inc.’s ultracapacitors as the energy storage element of the Bombardier EnerGstor® braking energy recuperation system, according to a Maxwell press release. Each stationary “wayside” EnerGstor unit incorporates an ultracapacitor array that is capable of storing up to two kilowatt hours of electrical energy generated by a rail vehicle’s braking energy recuperation system. The ultracapacitor-based energy storage unit captures and stores energy that otherwise would be wasted in a conventional, friction-based braking system, Maxwell officials said.

• Bay Area-based Metropolitan Transit Commission has surpassed 1 million active Clipper® cards in circulation 18 months after rebranding the card from TransLink to Clipper, which is operated by Cubic Transportation Systems. In making the announcement, the agency credited the increasing number of participating transit operators as well as their collective customer education efforts for driving the growth; card circulation is up 142 percent from the prior year, Cubic officials said in a prepared statement.  
                       
• Amsted Rail division Amsted RPS has named Michael Steidl director of international sales and Shaun Morgen, transit sales manager. Steidl will lead Amsted’s international sales, oversee current relationships and drive expansion in new international markets. Prior to joining Amsted, he spent the past nine years with Vossloh Fastening Systems GmbH, most recently as vice president and managing director of the North American operations. Meanwhile, Morgen will be responsible for Amsted RPS’ transit sales in western North America. He will consult with engineering firms, contractors and transit properties to provide direct-fixation, embedded and ballasted track solutions, according to a press release. He has more than 10 years of sales and engineering experience in the railroad industry, most recently as national project manager with L.B. Foster Co.

• Yangtze Railroad Materials has named Jeremy Tucker national sales manager.  He will be responsible for marketing and sales to Class Is as well as business development with other clients in the rail industry. He has 20 years of experience in sales, estimating and purchasing, as well as product knowledge from his past employer, Unitrac Railroad Materials.