Digest: Wabtec begins operations at facility for additive manufacturing, 3D printing

Digest: Wabtec begins operations at facility for additive manufacturing, 3D printing

By David Lassen | June 8, 2021

News Wire Digest second section for June 8: Mayor, advocacy groups call for restoration of Empire Service schedule; Indiana DOT to begin work to make room for South Shore project

Media event with people around 3D printing device
Wabtec has opened its additive manufacturing facility at Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood 91, featuring an SLM 3D printer. (Wabtec)

Wabtec opens facility at Pittsburgh additive manufacturing process

Wabtec has begun operations at Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood 91, becoming the first and anchor tenant for industrial complex devoted to additive manufacturing and 3D printing. The 11,000-square-foot facility will produce brake parts, heat sinks for locomotives, and other components. It is part of a company effort to produce up to 25,000 parts annually through additive production by 2025. “Advances in additive technology are changing the way we design and build the next generation of business-critical, sustainable products for our customers,” Eric Gebhardt, Wabtec’s Chief Technology Officer, said in a press release. “Neighborhood 91 and its one-of-a-kind additive ecosystem will help foster creative solutions to engineering challenges and breakthroughs in 3D printing. Our Neighborhood 91 facility and the other additive labs in Western Pennsylvania will accelerate new innovations that shrink lead times, reduce cost and increase reliability.”

Schenectady mayor, advocacy groups call for restoration of Empire Service schedule

The mayor of Schenectady, N.Y., and several advocacy groups are calling on New York’s Department of Transportation to restore Amtrak Empire Service to pre-pandemic levels. WAMC Radio reports Mayor Gary McCarthy called not only for the restoration of the previous schedule, but additional early and late service to and from New York City. Empire State Passengers Association President Gary Prophet said many of the current Empire Corridor trains are selling out; his organization was joined by the Saratoga Chamber and Schenectady Business Community in calling for existing Empire Service between Albany and New York City to be extended to Schenectady and Saratoga.

Indiana DOT begins highway work to make room for South Shore Double Track project

The Indiana Department of Transportation is preparing to begin a highway reconfiguration project in Gary, Ind., to create room for the South Shore Line’s Double Track project. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports the work on the junction of U.S. Routes 12 and 20 in Gary’s Miller neighborhood could begin as soon as Thursday, and should be done in September. It will allow for an expanded station and parking lots.

 

 

 

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