Ricardo and MxV Rail have signed a strategic alliance agreement to bring together their rail engineering and testing capabilities to serve the global market.

The agreement focuses on areas where the two organisations share strong interests, including systems integration, safety performance and decarbonisation, including hydrogen and battery traction.

‘Our alliance with Ricardo is built on shared principles around technical competency, rigorous standards and insightful responses leading to real-world solutions in a dynamic rail environment’, said MxV Rail President Kari Gonzales.

Association of American Railroads subsidiary MxV Rail was previously known as TTC Inc, and is currently developing its own test centre on a former military base near Pueblo in Colorado. This is close to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Transportation Technology Center which TTCI operated under contract for many years.

Ricardo is building its presence in the Northern American market, with contracts to support Ontario transport agency Metrolinx and personal rapid transit company SkyTran in California. It hopes that the partnership with MxV Rail will create opportunities for its assurance and technical consultancy services.

‘MxV Rail is a highly regarded organisation that is renowned for its specialist technical expertise’, said Kirk Klug, Ricardo’s Director of Business Development, Rail US. ‘The new facility in Pueblo County will be a world-class base that exemplifies their commitment to investing in their future capabilities. They are the perfect partner with which to develop new services, tools and assurance plans and we look forward to building an ever-stronger relationship.’