Rail supplier news from Bombardier, Greenbrier, Network Rail and Parsons (Jan. 8)

Bombardier Transportation has received a repeat order for 32 OMNEO double-deck trainsets from French national railway company SNCF Mobilites. Valued at US$444 million, the 256-car order is part of a contract signed in 2010 to provide up to 860 double deck trains to French regions, Bombardier officials said in a press release. The Centre-Val de Loire Region plans to roll out the new trains on its Paris-Orleans-Tours, Paris-Bourges and Paris-Montargis-Nevers lines. The units have 373 seats and feature baggage racks, passenger information screens and a space for wheelchairs and bicycles. The first trains will be delivered in 2020.

The Greenbrier Cos. Inc. reported first-quarter fiscal-year 2018 net income of $26.3 million, or 83 cents per diluted share, compared with $25 million, or 79 cents per diluted share, for the same period in the previous fiscal year. The company's first quarter of FY2018 ended Nov. 30, 2017. Greenbrier logged $559.5 million in first-quarter revenue, compared with $552.3 million in the first quarter of FY2017. Additionally, the company received orders for 3,200 diversified rail cars valued at more than $290 million, marking an increase from orders for 2,400 rail cars valued at more than $230 million in the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Although the market for new rail cars in North America is challenging, broad-based demand for Greenbrier's products and services "remains steady," said Greenbrier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Furman in a press release.

Network Rail Consulting has appointed Mitch Alderman vice president of North America-West. He'll work with the company's business development specialists to find and secure new opportunities. Alderman also will oversee and support work with existing clients, Network Rail Consulting officials said in a press release. Before joining the firm, he worked on Pacific Railways Enterprises' civil engineering projects, including the $2.5 billion redevelopment and expansion of Los Angeles Union Station. Alderman's rail management experience spans more than three decades.

Parsons Corp. has named Daniel Louis a vice president in the firm's transportation division. He'll focus on the pursuit and delivery of large alternative delivery projects and provide support for major metro and tunneling projects. Louis has more than 32 years of experience in transit-rail, tunneling, heavy civil construction and construction management. He's worked on major projects worldwide, including ones in New York City, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Parsons hired Jennifer Ryan as senior project manager, rail. In the role, she'll help pursue and deliver large transit-rail projects, and support major transit-rail and industrial-rail design projects. She has nearly three decades of experience in transit-rail planning and design, as well as in management of major programs and projects. Ryan has served on multiple large transit projects nationally, and has worked with the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Railroad Administration on projects in Seattle, Atlanta and Southern California.