World

ERIE, Pa. — GE Transportation announced that Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has taken delivery of the 3,000th Evolution Series locomotive produced at GE Transportation’s Erie, Pa., manufacturing site. One Evolution Series locomotive can pull the equivalent of 170 Boeing 747 “Jumbo Jet” airliners. In 2006, KTZ ordered 310 GE Evolution Series locomotives and the first ten units, including the 3,000th, have arrived in Kazakhstan. Three hundred additional locomotives will be assembled in Kazakhstan starting at the end of 2009 from kits and parts produced in Erie. This is the 3,000th Evolution Series locomotive since its introduction to the market in

FLORENCE, Italy — GE Transportation announced that it has signed a contract valued at more than $60 million with Trenitalia for the design, supply and installation of 400 on board Sistema di Supporto alla Condotta — SSC train protection systems for diesel locomotives in Trenitalia’s passenger and cargo fleet. SSC is a new generation of automatic train protection solutions that increase the safety and performance of train operations. It continuously monitors the actual speed of the train thereby guaranteeing that the maximum speed limit is not violated. In cases where action is required, the system can enforce the train’s braking

MESINGES, France — Six people were killed and dozens more injured after a train collided with a school bus that was blocking a grade crossing, authorities said. Five of the six killed were school children. “Five children were killed. Four passengers on the bus were seriously injured — it is not known if they are children or adults — and 27 children were slightly injured,” AFP news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying. The crash happened about 2 p.m. Monday, June 2, local time. More than 30 people were injured, and some of the injured may have been passengers

KINGSTON, Jamaica — China has agreed to finance much of a $354 million project to overhaul Jamaican railroads, officials said. Jamaica is building 18 new stations as part of what is expected to be a three-year overhaul. Once completed, railroads will connect many of the island’s major cities, including Montego Bay and Kingston. As part of the agreement, China will loan Jamaica 85 percent of the $354 million needed for the project. “The passenger and freight rail service is intended to significantly impact on the rising fuel cost, with the Government focused on getting much of the island’s freight transportation