April 26: Updates from GE Transportation, Boatright, Bombardier, Trinity and RailComm

• GE Transportation is launching a new European Train Control System (ETCS) and Computer-Based Interlocking system offering as part of a new portfolio of rail signaling solutions called Tempo. The company made the announcement at the UIC ERTMS World Conference 2012 held in Stockholm, from April 24-26. The introduction of Tempo Railway Solutions marks a major milestone in GE Transportation’s strategy to provide ERTMS compliant systems worldwide, according to a company press release. The offering provides a range of ETCS-compliant wayside and onboard solutions, ETCS being one of the two main components of the ERTMS standard.
 
• Boatright Cos. has appointed Tony Ingram, George Wilbanks and former Alabama Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. to the company’s advisory board. Ingram has 39 years of experience in the railroad industry, including at Norfolk Southern Railway and as executive vice president and chief operating officer of CSX Corp., from which he retired in 2009. Wilbanks serves as president of Drummond Coal Sales Inc., where he oversees coal sales and deliveries worldwide. Folsom’s political career included service as Alabama’s governor from 1993-95, Alabama Public Service Commissioner from 1978-1987, and Alabama’s lieutenant governor from 1987-1993 and 2006-2010. Currently, Folsom is senior vice president of public finance in Alabama for Piper Jaffray Securities Inc.

• Bombardier Transportation’s FLEXITY Berlin tram has received the Universal Design and Consumer Favorite Award for 2012. In an interdisciplinary process, the FLEXITY Berlin design was specifically developed for the city’s needs by the Berlin-based IFS Design agency together with Bombardier and the BVG, according to a Bombardier press release. The vehicle’s features, ranging from the exterior and interior to the driver’s workspace, were overseen by the designers throughout the project’s development.

• Trinity Industries Inc. reported first-quarter 2012 net income of $52.9 million, or 66 cents per common diluted share, compared with $24.2 million, or 30 cents per common diluted share, during the same period a year ago. Revenue for the quarter was $925.3 million, up from $634.2 million in first-quarter 2011. The Rail Group reported revenue of $467.1 million and an operating profit of $40.1 million during the period, compared with revenue of $219.8 million and an operating profit of $9.3 million in the first quarter of 2011. The Rail Group shipped 5,010 railcars and received orders for 3,255 railcars with a value of $393.2 million during the quarter. As a result, the value of the Rail Group backlog remained stable during the period at $2.6 billion, representing approximately 27,245 railcars as of March 31, 2012, compared with a backlog of $2.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2011, or 29,000 railcars.
 
• RailComm has provided its Track Warrant Control (TWC) system for Chile’s Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (EFE). RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) train control system is used for dispatching and train management at two of EFE’s three dispatching centers. The centers in Santiago City and Concepcion City use the DOC System for monitoring and controlling trains within 2,000 kilometers of their rail system, according to a company press release.