Wabtec acquires Australian signal design service firm C2CE

Wabtec Corporation has acquired C2CE Pty Ltd., an Australian-based provider of railway signal design services. C2CE provides turnkey train control, signaling and communications solutions, including design, project management and installation for railway markets in Australia and Southeast Asia. The company also designs and installs high- and low-voltage power distribution systems and provides electrical and communications solutions for industrial markets.

Minneapolis approves Southwest LRT

The Minneapolis City Council granted the Southwest light-rail transit project municipal consent, allowing the Metropolitan Council to seek approval from the federal government to enter Final Engineering. Hennepin County and the cities of Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins and St. Louis Park all provided municipal consent to the project previously.

UNITRAC hires new VP of operations

UNITRAC Railroad Materials, Inc., has hired Scott Arnold as the vice president of operations at UNITRAC’s headquarters and manufacturing facility in Knoxville, Tenn. Arnold comes from Yale Locks, where he served as the director of operation and brings with him more than 20 years of manufacturing experience.

MTA’s Blue Ribbon Panel makes final recommendations

A Blue Ribbon Panel of transportation experts studying safety and maintenance practices at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) three railroad operations – Metro-North Railroad, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and New York City Transit (NYCT) – has released its final recommendations for improvement, including creating better data systems to monitor track conditions, adjusting schedules to provide more time for track work and bolstering the safety culture at Metro-North.

Oklahoma plans $100-million grade crossing safety initiative

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin are implementing a new initiative to fast-track hundreds of projects to improve more than 300 rail crossings statewide and upgrade safety warning features on rail crossings.

Springfield Rail Improvements Project begins with grade separation

Local and federal officials gathered on Thursday, August 21, 2014, for a ground-breaking ceremony of a underpass at Carpenter Street in Springfield, Ill. The grade separation is part of a larger rail project that will consolidate rail traffic and improve safety as part of the Chicago to St. Louis high-speed corridor.

FRA funds grants for Short Line Safety Institute

The Federal Railroad Administration funded two grants totaling $350,000 to support development of a Short Line Safety Institute. The institute will help mitigate risk associated with shipping hazardous materials by rail by working to improve the culture of safety within the shortline and regional rail industry while improving its overall safety record.