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Wabtec Corporation on Nov. 17 reported the addition of Brazil-based Super Metal to its maintenance-of-way (m/w) business. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The move complements Wabtec’s 2021 acquisition of Nordco—a supplier of new, rebuilt and used maintenance-of-way equipment, with a product and service portfolio that includes mobile railcar movers and ultrasonic rail flaw detection technologies—and its existing Contagem, Brazil plant, which in August celebrated 60 years of locomotive production.

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) will work with Wabtec, a leading manufacturer of freight locomotives, to develop the hardware and control strategies for a single-cylinder, dual-fuel engine to demonstrate the viability of using alternative fuels for locomotives.

The first two of CN’s 50-unit order of AC44C6M remanufactured locomotives from Wabtec have arrived in Canada. Rebuilt at Wabtec’s Fort Worth, Tex., plant from GE C44-9Ws built in the late 1990s, these units have been upgraded to 4,500 hp (from 4,400), with up to 25%, increased fuel efficiency, 40% increased reliability and reduction in maintenance and repairs with modernized control systems.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Wabtec has celebrated the 10th anniversary of its manufacturing operations in Fort Worth, having opened a 1-million-square-foot locomotive plant and 250,000-square-foot mining-equipment facility in October 2012.

Canadian National AC44C6M No. 3300, the first in an order of 50 of the remanufactured diesels and the guest of honor in ceremonies at Wabtec’s Fort Worth, Texas, plant on Oct. 13, 2022.

In this episode of The Cool Parts Show, laser powder bed fusion simplifies the manufacturing of air brake panels for light rail systems made by Wabtec.

In August, Ajith Kumar surpassed legendary American inventor George Westinghouse in the number of patents held. 362 vs Westinghouse’s 361. Westinghouse, who died in 1914, invented the air brake system that made railroads safer and transformed the US rail industry. His Westinghouse Air Brake Company is the origin of today’s locomotive giant Wabtec, where Kumar is now vice president of technology-innovation. Earlier this month, the company celebrated Kumar’s achievement at its Pittsburgh headquarters

Wabtec has presented a range of new technology at the InnoTrans trade fair intended to enable rail operators to reduce fuel bills while offering shippers more efficient and predictable service. In a series of exclusive interviews with Trains News Wire, Wabtec executives outlined the likely transition from diesel to alternative fuel types for North American and global rail operators over the next two decades.

Wabtec and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ, Kazakhstan National Railway) have signed a $600 million memorandum of understanding (MOU) for 150 FLXdrive™ battery-electric switchers and modernization work to transform the KTZ main line diesel-electric fleet into NextFuel™ liquified natural gas-powered (LNG) locomotives.

CSX is working with the Federal Railroad Administration to test and implement Wabtec’s new Trip Optimizer Zero-to-Zero technology, the Class I railroad reported Sept. 7.

Ajith (“AJ”) Kumar recently received his 362nd U.S. patent. A Consulting Engineer, he works for Wabtec, whose origins began in Western Pennsylvania with founder George Westinghouse Jr.’s invention of the automatic air brake in 1869. Kumar has now surpassed Westinghouse’s patent record, 361, and Wabtec on Sept. 1 honored him during its all-hands meeting.

MarineLink writes about Wabtec's Tier 4 compliant engine with no need for urea. Is it the cheapest propulsion solution on the market? No. But the Pennsylvania-based engine builder mounts a compelling case for its 250MDC diesel engine based on performance, fuel efficiency and lifecycle costs.

Wabtec Corp. delivered “strong” second-quarter 2022 financial results, with year-over-year growth in total sales (up 1.8%, carried by the Freight segment) and backlog (up 7.9%), despite “rising costs, continued supply chain challenges and significant unfavorable foreign currency exchange,” the company reported Aug. 5.

Wabtec has received a contract, valued at over $1bn, from US-based Union Pacific for the modernization of its locomotives. Under the contract, the company will upgrade Union Pacific’s 600 locomotives through the addition of digital solutions and innovations.

Union Pacific will spend more than $1 billion to upgrade 600 of its old diesel locomotives over the next three years and make them more efficient, but regulators still want it to do more to cut pollution from its engines.