KANSAS CITY, Mo. — CANAC Inc, North America’s leading supplier of solutions to the rail industry, announced on January 15 that Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) will take delivery of 50 Beltpack(R) locomotive remote control (LRC) systems during the coming year, becoming the largest Beltpack(R) user in the U.S. railroad industry.
In addition to delivering state-of-the-art LRC systems to KCS, CANAC will also provide tailored implementation support services, specialized computer software, an enhanced web-based training support system and extensive CANAC- designed training programs for operators and supervisors.
Commenting on the purchase, KCS’s Senior Vice President – Operations, Ab Rees said, “Kansas City Southern is eagerly anticipating the effects that Beltpack(R) ‘s premier technology will have in preventing accidents and injuries.”
Frank Trotter, President and CEO of CANAC, added, “We are extremely pleased to have KCS as a major LRC partner. This solid commitment to Beltpack(R) technology underlines its growing acceptance as the industry standard and the system of choice for U.S. Class I, regional and large terminal railroads.”
Beltpack(R) is a computer-based LRC system that permits safe operation of a locomotive by a qualified operator. The state-of-the-art Beltpack(R) system links one or two operators using a portable Operator Control Unit (OCU) via radio link to an advanced onboard computer programmed with the industry’s best train handling practices. This Brain in the Train(TM) is one of the keys to Beltpack(R)’s superior contribution to the safety and efficiency of rail yard operations. With more than 2.5 million hours of operation on Class I railroads, Beltpack(R) has made yard switching operations more than twice as safe for railroad workers compared to traditional manual operations.
With more than 200 systems already in use across North America, Beltpack(R) is the premier product in CANAC’s portfolio of remote control systems for railroads and industry, all produced at the company’s ISO 9002- certified facilities in Pittsburgh, PA. Founded in 1971, CANAC provides knowledge-based products and services to freight and passenger railroads, industries operating their own railroads, investors and governments throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.