USA: MxV Rail has held a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the construction of its 9 km High Speed Loop test track at its new PuebloPlex campus in Colorado, with completion anticipated by September.
A subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads, MxV Rail was previously known as TTC Inc, and for around 40 years held a contract to manage the Federal Railroad Administration’s Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo. Management of the federal facility is currently being transferred to ENSCO under a replacement FRA contract.
As a result of the transfer, MxV Rail decided to develop a new test track and associated R&D and training facilities at a nearby site. This offered ‘the chance of a lifetime for our team of railroad experts and specialists’, said MxV Rail AVP of Operations Shawn Vecellio on May 18. ‘We took the best aspects of our old test loops and designed track not only capable of supporting today’s rail industry but also an ideal test bed for proving tomorrow’s transportation innovations.’
MxV Rail is moving assets valued at between $75m and 100m to the PuebloPlex campus, which will provide offices and laboratory space at the Pueblo Industrial Park.
Suppliers and contractors for the new facility include Rocla Concrete Tie, Martin Marietta Parkdale Quarry, Special Trackwork, HE Whitlock and EVRAZ Steel, A&K Railroad Materials, RJ Corman Railroad Group, Progress Rail and David Evans & Associates.
