Rail supplier news from BSYA, James Street, KB Signaling, Marmon and Messe Berlin (Aug. 13)

BSY Associates Inc., a B2B marketing communications agency for the global supply chain, has welcomed key team members from James Street Associates (JSA), a marketing firm long known for its rail and multimodal logistics expertise. Through a strategic transition arrangement, BSYA is now supporting several JSA clients according to a BSYA press release. As part of the agreement, JSA Executive Director Bill Fahrenwald and Account Manager Kristi Sliva will join the BSYA team, bringing decades of experience and client relationships, including Anacostia Rail Holdings, Midwest Association of Rail Shippers, North American Rail Shippers Association, Railinc Corp. and Transmetriq. Martha Anderson, co-director of JSA, is retiring.

KB Signaling Inc.'s (KBS) new application Rail TempEst^™ is now commercially available for the company’s Wayside System Data Management Module (WSDMM^™) edge computing platform to provide a machine learning-powered approach to monitoring rail temperature and longitudinal tensile or compressive forces using existing signal infrastructure. It requires no rail-mounted sensors or additional field equipment. With rail buckles and breaks among the leading causes of significant derailments in North America — and temperature-related safety advisories on the rise — the Rail TempEst application is designed to give railroads an improved source of information to monitor critical risk factors, KBS officials said in a press release. The software is currently being deployed in its first implementation with a U.S. Class I.

Marmon Rail is introducing ProTecht, a proprietary mobile cleaning and maintenance system for tank cars. ProTecht is operated by Marmon Rail brands UTLX (United States) and Procor (Canada). The patent-pending ProTecht system is compatible with all tank car types, regardless of ownership or manufacturer. Designed specifically for industrial rail-yard environments, ProTecht features three specialized cleaning modes tailored to the commodity being handled: water filtration, steam injection and the automated cannon systems. ProTecht’s closed-loop system filters and reuses both water and detergent, significantly reducing waste, extending operational uptime and minimizing environmental impact, Marmon Rail officials said in a press release.

Messe Berlin, organizer of the InnoTrans trade fair, announced the inaugural edition of InnoTrans Asia is set to take place in Singapore Sept. 7-9, 2027. The event marks the first time the InnoTrans brand expands into Asia, reinforcing its commitment to supporting innovation and global connectivity in the rail and mobility sectors, according to an InnoTrans press release. Held every two years in Berlin, InnoTrans is an international trade fair for transport technology, attracting tens of thousands of industry professionals from around the world. The next edition of InnoTrans in Berlin will be held Sept. 22-25, 2026, and will continue to serve as the global flagship gathering for the sector. But with Asia rapidly emerging as a center for transportation infrastructure growth, InnoTrans Asia 2027 will offer a timely and powerful new platform tailored to the region’s needs.