Westinghouse Air Brake to Buy Rockwell Unit

Westinghouse Air Brake Co. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Rockwell International Corp.’s railroad electronics division for $80 million, improving its train brake and communications product lines.

Westinghouse Air Brake, one of North America’s largest makers of locomotive equipment, bought the unit from Rockwell Collins Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Rockwell Collins is a subsidiary of Costa Mesa-based Rockwell.

Demand for locomotives and related equipment has risen over the last year as the nation’s largest railroads revealed plans to spend billions of dollars on improving their rail systems.

For Rockwell, the sale comes as it sheds some businesses to concentrate on industrial automation, avionics and electronic communications. The former maker of the B-1 bomber quit the aerospace and automotive businesses over the last two years, and in June said it will spin off its semiconductor division.