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• Wabtec Corp.'s Xorail Inc. subsidiary has obtained a $165 million contract to design and install a communications-based train control system for MRS Logistica, which operates the Southeastern Federal Railroad Network in Brazil. Xorail's services will include turnkey management; design and installation of signaling, communications and train dispatch equipment; and onboard electronic equipment for 500 locomotives and 50 auxiliary vehicles. The project is slated for completion in 2013.

• L.B. Foster Co. will supply 1,553 tons of new rail to Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. for new track installation and spur improvements. An L.B. Foster work train will deliver 80,000 linear feet of 115-pound continuous-welded rail in May to an Iowa Interstate interchange. The rail will be manufactured and welded in lengths up to 1,600 feet by Steel Dynamics Inc. at their Columbia City, Ind., plant, and shipped on L.B. Foster's weld train, according to a prepared statement.

• Bombardier Transportation Signaling B.V. has purchased a 25 percent stake in signaling equipment manufacturer Elteza, a subsidiary of Russian Railways (RZD). Subject to further approval, BT Signaling B.V. could increase its stake up to 50 percent. RZD will remain the majority shareholder. Elteza is Russia's largest signaling equipment producer. The new partnership will be one of the first examples of the privatization of a Russian Railways' subsidiary, Bombardier officials said in a prepared statement.

• BLS AG has placed an order with a Bombardier Transportation/Alstom Transport consortium to supply four additional Lotschberger multiple units. Valued at $41 million, the order is an option to a contract signed in 2006, and brings the total number of Lotschberger trains ordered by BLS to 25. Deliveries are scheduled to occur between September and December 2012. The trains have a 171-seat capacity and can reach a maximum speed of about 100 mph.

• RailComm has completed installation of an automation system at Transnet's Kimberley Yard in South Africa. The system includes RailComm’s DOC® server-based, central-control system and 11 associated outdoor-rated control panels. In addition, the system features RailComm RADiANT™ data radios to communicate between the office system, control panels and power switches. The power switches are controlled by RailComm’s universal switch controller.

• SKF Railway Business Unit North America has received the 2010 Supplier of the Year award from GE Transportation. The award was presented during a recent conference at GE Transportation’s global headquarters in Erie, Pa. SKF was chosen from a field of more than 1,000 suppliers, according to an SKF statement. The award focused primarily on SKF bearings supplied to GE, said Michael Loose, managing director for SKF Railway Business Unit North America.