NYAB secures EP-60 air brake system order from Australia’s Fortescue Metals
Watertown, NY, USA – May 3, 2007 – New York Air Brake (NYAB) today announced contracts to provide electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) air brakes to the Australian mining company Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Under the contracts, NYAB will supply its EP-60 technology for 400 married pairs of iron ore cars and 17 new GE locomotives.
The equipment will go into service on Fortescue’s new Pilbara Iron Ore and Infrastructure Project, moving ore from mines in the Pilbara region to Fortescue’s new port site at Anderson Point in Port Hedland. The operation is scheduled to open in late 2008, and is designed to deliver more than 45 million tons annually.
EP-60 improves train braking performance by using electronic signals to transmit brake commands from the locomotive to the cars. These signals reach all cars simultaneously and all the cars brake at the same time. Stopping distances are shorter and in-train forces are reduced. As a result, railroads can operate longer and heavier trains at higher speeds, with significantly improved safety and fuel economy. NYAB currently has the only ECP brake approved by the Association of American Railroads for revenue service.
The Knorr-Bremse Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. For more than 100 years, the company has pioneered the development, production and marketing of state-of-the-art braking systems. Other lines of business include automatic door systems, rail vehicle air conditioning systems and torsional vibration dampers for internal combustion engines. In 2006 the Group posted sales of EUR 3.1 billion and employed a workforce of 13,000. To find out more about Knorr-Bremse, visit www.Knorr-Bremse.com.
New York Air Brake Corporation, a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group, supplies air brake control systems and components, electronically controlled braking systems, foundation brakes, training simulators and driver information systems to the freight railroad industry.
