A Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotive has arrived in the US state of Washington for certification testing on Amtrak’s Cascades Corridor, which links Eugene with Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.

METROLINX, the regional transport authority for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has received a prototype locomotive from Wabtec subsidiary MotviePower, which the supplier says is the first North American commuter locomotive to meet Tier 4 emissions standards.

RAILSERVE, United States, has despatched six Dual-Leaf genset locomotives from Houston to Libreville, Gabon, for use by Transgabonaise Exploitation Company (Setrag) as part of a project to modernise its railfreight operations.

CUMMINS has dispatched its first production QSK95 diesel engine for the rail market to Siemens' plant in Sacramento, California, where it will be fitted into a 200km/h Charger diesel locomotive.

NIGERIA's militant Islamist Boko Haram insurgency, which has wreaked havoc across the country through bombings, assassinations and abductions, is threatening to delay the completion of the $US 427m Port Harcourt - Maiduguri railway rehabilitation project.

NIPPON Sharyo's new DMU for North America is to be powered by Cummins QSK 19-R engines which are certified to meet Tier 4 Final ultra-low emissions standards which come into effect on January 1 2015.