VIA Rail selects Siemens for flagship fleet renewal
VIA Rail Canada announced that it has awarded Siemens Canada a C$989 million ($741 million) contract to supply 32 intercity trainsets for the Quebec City–Toronto–Windsor corridor.
Intercity
In Congress, it’s Hail Mary time
In the people’s company town of Washington, D.C., the most popular refrain during lame duck sessions of Congress—the fewer than 60 days between congressional elections and adjournment—is the catchphrase from Mariah Carey’s iconic tune, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Caltrain increasing Stadler EMU order
Caltrain is acquiring 37 additional Stadler double-deck EMU cars for the San Francisco – San Jose electrification project.
Texas Central trailblazing privately funded HSR
Despite producing more than one-third of U.S. crude oil output, urbanization, rapid economic growth and congestion mean Texans could be getting out of their cars and on to high-speed trains much sooner than most other Americans, if Texas Central Railway’s plan to link Dallas and Houston without one penny of public funding is successful.
Getting the next generation on track
What happens when you retire? I’m sure there are few things on everyone’s minds: that extra free time to look forward to, those hobbies you will now have time for, and all the places to visit. For a company, however, losing long-standing employees to retirement can be a difficult moment. Not only do they lose a valued colleague; a firm loses valuable institutional knowledge, experience and wisdom. The gap that is left behind is tangible and can really hurt business stability and growth.
TekTracking partners with Gioconda Rail
TekTracking LLC, a railway technology sales and product development firm, has formed a new partnership with Gioconda Rail.
LTK elevates four
LTK Engineering Services has promoted four staff members to senior-level positions, three of them with new regional responsibilities.
Mind the widening gap, Amtrak
In its former high-flying days, GE’s business model was praised in most MBA programs for its skills in planned, self-destructive obsolescence to cannibalize its operations; to reinvent itself to always stay ahead of the competition by pushing competitors back on their heels. Today, Sir Richard Branson evidences that business acumen quality sorely lacking at Amtrak between the political appointees indifferent to stewardship on the Board of Directors and the ranks of “cardboard senior and executive management” dutifully towing the party line.
New CUS skylight sheds light on serious mobility problems
Amtrak recently completed a $22 million restoration of historic Chicago Union Station’s Great Hall, including refurbishment and modernization of the skylight. Amtrak calls this project a “good start” to further improvements at CUS. However, the good start has very little to do with how the station actually operates.
Chicago Union Station Great Hall project completed
Chicago Union Station, opened in 1925 and now Amtrak’s fourth-busiest (serving 37.6 million Amtrak and Metra rail passengers annually, 120,000 on a typical weekday), has undergone a $22 million restoration of its Great Hall, featuring a restored skylight and improved lighting.