Rail supplier news from Alstom, Thales, Tiger Cool, HDR, First State and Ricardo (Jan. 29)

Alstom appointed Muslum Yakisan senior vice president in the Middle East and Africa; Benjamin Fitoussi, SVP of operations; and Thierry Best, chief commercial officer. Previously, Yakisan served as Siemens Mobility VP and the global head of commuter and regional trains and passenger coaches. Fitoussi most recently was chief operating officer and senior EVP for Nexans’ Europe and North America market. He also held numerous senior management roles at Alstom. Prior to his appointment, Best had been COO of Alstom since 2014, and has extensive experience in the rail industry, Alstom officials said in a press release.

Thales and Piper Networks completed a nine-month pilot of ultra-wideband (UWB) technology on MTA New York City Transit’s (NYCT) Flushing subway line. The pilot demonstrated the potential for UWB positioning technologies to integrate seamlessly with communications-based train control to improve system reliability and the speed of delivery for upgraded signaling systems, NYCT officials said in a press release.

Tiger Cool Express partnered with the Carbonfund.org Foundation to offer its intermodal service customers a carbon offsetting option. When customers elect to ship through Tiger Cool Express’s CarbonFree Loads program, the company will calculate and obtain carbon offsets to mitigate the carbon emissions generated by the rail service, drayage and reefer unit in transit. Proceeds will support verified projects selected in partnership with Carbonfund.org. Initial offsets will be directed to the Russas-Valparaiso forest conservation projects in the Amazon, Tiger Cool Express officials said in a press release.

HDR hired Todd Hemingson as a senior transit consultant. Hemingson has led transit network redesign efforts at three transit agencies. Most recently he was the executive vice president for planning and development at the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin, Texas. He now serves as chairman of the Transportation Research Board’s panel on redesigning public transportation networks, HDR officials said in a press release.

First State Investments appointed John DiMarco director of the direct infrastructure team. Previously, DiMarco served as managing director of the CCA Group LLC and held positions at Terra-Gen Power, GE Energy Financial Services and Citigroup. First State Investments is a global investor in infrastructure, and recently acquired Patriot Rail and Ports, First State officials said in a press release.

SG Rail Ltd. selected Ricardo to provide engineering support and assessment services during the construction of the Great Train eXpress, a planned high-speed commuter-rail network in Seoul, South Korea. Ricardo will provide system engineering and independent safety assessment services to ensure the infrastructure and rolling stock systems are properly integrated for Line A. Line A will open in 2024, and is the the first of three planned lines that eventually will make up the rail network.