Rail supplier news from Alstom, Jacobs, McMillen, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Bombardier, Fairmount Santrol and Hatch Mott MacDonald (Oct. 28)

Alstom obtained a $108 million contract from Delhi Metro Rail Corp. to supply 25 metros to Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. The first trainsets are expected to be delivered in early 2016. Alstom will be in charge of the design, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 25 standard track gauge trains, with an option to supply 25 additional metro sets. The cars will be manufactured in India.

Engineering and consulting firm Jacobs Associates and engineering and construction firm McMillen L.L.C. announced they intend to merge. McMillen Jacobs Associates will have a staff of 380 and operate out of 19 offices across North America, Australia and New Zealand. Merging with McMillen helps Jacobs Associates grow construction management, redefine how design-build is delivered and diversify beyond tunnels, according to a press release issued by both firms. The merger is expected to expand McMillen’s geographical reach, as well as strengthen its engineering capabilities in rock mechanics, grouting and underground structures.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract to provide asset information management services to support the United Kingdom's high-speed rail program through the next phases of scheme development. The firm will provide strategic advice for the development of asset information management requirements to be implemented during the construction and handover phases. Meanwhile, the firm named Periklis Papadopoulos a supervising communications systems engineer in the New York City office. He will be responsible for the conceptual development and design of large-scale communications and security projects for rail and transit infrastructure.

Bombardier Transportation presented to the Arriyadh Development Authority the new INNOVIA Metro 300 design for the Riyadh Metro Line 3, which has reached its final design stage on time. A member of the ArRiyadh New Mobility Consortium, Bombardier will supply 47 two-car INNOVIA Metros, custom-designed to reflect Saudi Arabia's culture and comply with with ADA's technical requirements, according to a Bombardier press release.

Fairmount Santrol has deployed a Railserve LEAF^® Gen-Set locomotive at its Roff, Okla., resin-coating plants. The locomotive is designed to consume 50 percent less diesel in less time to move six times the number of rail cars around the two Roff property plants, Fairmount Santrol officials said in a press release. The new locomotive is the second acquired by the company. In 2012, Fairmount Santrol purchased a Railserve LEAF for switching operations at one of its Wisconsin mines.

The International Federation of Consulting Engineers honored Hatch Mott MacDonald for its role in Central Link Section 710: Beacon Hill Station and Tunnels as one of six outstanding projects of 2014, one of two awards bestowed for a U.S. project. The award was presented Sept. 30 at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. HMM's corporate parent Mott MacDonald received an award of merit for its Cleaner Seas for Sussex project, the only award given for a United Kingdom project.