SPRINGFIELD, Va. — ENSCO Rail will conduct operational testing on new Stadler diesel multiple-unit trainsets at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., ENSCO has announced. The new trainsets are being built for Dallas Area Rapid Transit for its Silver Line (also known as the Cotton Belt Corridor), a 26-mile rail line from DFW Airport to Plano.
ENSCO became the new contract operator of the TTC, owned by the Federal Railroad Administration, on Oct. 1.
“ENSCO is excited to support Stadler’s operational tests for these state-of the-art DMU trainsets,” Jeff Stevens, ENSCO president, said in a press release. “We thank Stadler for choosing ENSCO to conduct this testing at the TTC in recognition of our technical capabilities as the Center begins a new era under ENSCO’s management.”
DART placed the order for eight of Stadler’s FLIRT DMU trainsets in 2019. Similar equipment is used on the TexRail commuter rail operation between downtown Fort Worth and DFW airport.
Same operat of TTC as makes equipment. Can we see a conflict of interest?
I am not seeing a conflict by having Ensco testing Stadler built equipment.
This is totally unnecessary, we don’t need to test every single time a new agency orders a trainset…one and done for a particular model, that saves time and money. Since the FLIRT already operates on TexRail and a few other operations, just ship them to the new agency and skip the testing. The only testing needed would be by the purchasing authority to see if they meet specs.