Rail supplier news from Railmark, Alstom, Forte Construction, Renegade Parts Washers and Turntide

Railmark Holdings Inc. announced yesterday that it has acquired Katahdin Railcar Services LLC (KRS), a certified Association of American Railroads M-1002 and M-1003 rail car and tank car repair company based in Derby, Maine. The addition brings Railmark to 13 operating locations, including three short lines, across 11 states, Railmark officials said in a press release. KRS' Maine facility, which is host to North America's only robotic tank-car cleaning system, has historically served the New England region. Railmark intends to expand that reach into more U.S. markets. Together with Railmark's Canadian subsidiary, Railmark Canada Ltd., the company will also expand KRS' mobile repair services into the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec.

Alstom today marked the start of passenger service on the first Urbanliner tram delivered for Germany's largest public transport company, BVG. At 50 meters long, the Urbanliners are longer than Berlin's prior trams, the GT6s, and will first be used along the M4 route, one of the city's busiest lines, Alstom officials said in a press release. BVG ordered a total of 65 Urbanliner trams from Alstom; the manufacturer expects to deliver about 14 more trams by the end of 2026 and the full order by 2030. "With space for more than 300 passengers, [the Urbanliners] represent a form of mobility that is geared towards people’s needs," said Ute Bonde, Berlin senator for mobility, transport, climate protection and the environment.

Forte Construction Corp., in collaboration with lead designer AECOM and MTA Construction & Development, has completed the reconstruction of passenger platforms at the MTA Long Island Rail Road's Babylon Station. As part of a larger, two-year multiphase modernization project at the station, Forte Construction and its partners reconstructed the more than 60-year-old, 12-car platforms while maintaining uninterrupted service, Forte Construction officials said in a press release. Work was completed two weeks ahead of schedule. Continued upgrades to elevators, escalators, communication and security, accessibility and architecture will continue through the end of the year. 

Renegade Parts Washers this year marks 30 years of manufacturing industrial parts-cleaning equipment for railroad maintenance operations, transit systems, fleet shops, repair facilities, rebuilders and manufacturers. Founded by David Barney in 1996, the Reedsburg, Wisconsin-based company designs and builds manual parts washers, automatic top-load and front-load systems, and custom I-Series washing systems, company officials said in a press release. A division of Service Line Inc., Renegade supports daily production, maintenance and repair work across the industrial sector. 

Turntide Technologies has received an order from Hitachi Rail for modular battery systems for the first U.K.-manufactured battery trains for Arriva Group's Grand Central fleet. First announced on July 2, 2025, the partnership involved a research and development component that has officially moved into production with the potential to either support new battery trains or to be used for retrofitting over 600 engines on existing Hitachi Rail U.K. fleets, Turntide officials said in a press release. The battery system is designed to lower operational costs, extend range and drive progress toward zero-emission travel."