The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) said new line-boring equipment at its remanufacturing and repair centre in North Bay will allow the company to work on a greater variety of engine types, increase efficiency, and reduce downtime for customers.
Having the equipment on site makes ONTC “the only railway in Canada offering in-house line-boring capabilities to external customers,” the company said in a Feb. 7 news release.
The equipment is used to restore worn or damaged bores, returns the engine to proper alignment and corrects bore centres.
"Our line-boring machine is a portable, computerized unit that is capable of driving multiple different cutting heads,” said Dan Monfils, senior manager of ONTC’s locomotive repair shop, in the release.
“We can bore six to 15 inches in diameter, allowing us to work on a greater variety of engine types. We are currently equipped to line bore EMD645 and EMD710 engine blocks.”
The company said this type of work previously had to be shipped out of the country, adding five to seven weeks to complete locomotive engine overhauls.
Dennis Higgs, ONTC’s vice-president of rail mechanical and remanufacturing, said the acquisition is good news for current clients and an asset for attracting new customers.
“Providing engine overhauls for marine, power generation and other transportation providers is now an exciting possibility for Ontario Northland," he said.
The ONTC is a Crown corporation providing transportation services throughout Northern Ontario, in addition to repair and refurbishment services to transportation companies across North America.
