Supply Briefs: AAR/Railinc, Siemens, TRAINFO Corp., HDR

AllTranstek has reported that AAR is requiring service equipment to be entered into the Railinc Component Tracking Program. As part of program entry, “an AAR Component Identification (CID) bar code label is created for each item that will be used to associate it to the tank car in Umler, when it is installed on the tank car,” according to the North American third-party, non-asset-based rail fleet management provider. “Any PRV [pressure relief valve] that was qualified before July is not required to be entered into the Railinc Component Tracking program. However, if a PRV is not installed within six months from its qualified date, then it must be qualified again and entered into the Component Tracking Program. To prepare for the July 1 implementation date, an AAR facility with activity codes C4a, C4m or C5 must have their bar code label process approved by the AAR. Recently published circular letter C-13824 revised standard S-920 in regard to the approval process.”



As part of Siemens’ “Where the Jobs Are” series, the company will feature on its website each month open positions in its business units as well as training initiatives available through partnerships with universities, community colleges, and technical and trade schools. The aim: to help bring “Americans back into the post-pandemic workforce,” the company reported. This is the second time Siemens has offered the series; it was introduced in 2011 “at a time when 14 million Americans were out of work two years after the recession.” according to the company.

Siemens has more than 2,000 U.S. job openings. Skilled trade jobs account for 32% of its hiring demand, with open positions primarily at its manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif.; Roebuck/Spartanburg, S.C.; Southaven, Miss.; and Grand Prairie, Tex.


Siemens USA President and CEO Barbara Humpton

Siemens said it invests $37 million annually in workforce training and champions apprenticeship programs. Last month, it announced an expansion of its Spartanburg plant, including the creation of more than 180 new jobs and a new apprenticeship program with a local community college to support the skilled work being done there.

“Our company’s success rests on skilled workers around the world—not just within our own company, but also among our suppliers and customers,” Siemens USA President and CEO Barbara Humpton said. “Now, more than ever, the country needs an inclusive workforce development agenda that brings more people into the process and doesn’t leave anyone behind.”



TRAINFO Corp. has received a C$460,700 interest-free loan through Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) to export its train crossing technologies and services to U.S. markets and “support job creation and market growth in western Canada.”

WD’s BSP program is open to “incorporated high-growth businesses” that have been operating in western Canada for a minimum of two years, according to WD; preference is given to small and medium-sized firms with less than 500 full-time employees.

“Every three hours there is an accident at a rail crossing in North America, and 1 in 30 first-responder trips are impacted by blocked crossings,” TRAINFO Corp. Co-founder and CEO Garreth Rempel said. “TRAINFO has developed innovative smart city technologies to solve these problems and has installed them in over a dozen Canadian and U.S. cities. We are excited to partner with WD’s BSP Program to accelerate our growth and implement our life-saving solutions in cities around the world.”

According to TRAINFO, it uses patented, machine-learning algorithms, proprietary sensors, and integrated rail network data “to predict rail crossing blockages up to 30 minutes before a train arrives.”



HDR has expanded its multi-modal transportation services through the acquisition of WKE, which will be known HDR | WKE. Founded in 2007, WKE’s design and construction management experience includes streets and highway corridors, bridges, runway structures, rail and transit facilities, and ports and harbors. The two firms recently worked together on the Link Union Station redevelopment and I-605 Corridor Improvement Project for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA).

“WKE has been a valued partner for many years,” HDR Chairman and CEO Eric Keen said. “They bring knowledge, relationships and expertise to HDR that, when combined with our capabilities, deepen our ability to serve our clients in Southern California and beyond.”

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