Rail supplier news from Brookville, Harsco, Ericsson, TranSystems and HNTB (Aug. 4)

Brookville Equipment Corp. last week shipped its fourth off-wire capable Liberty Streetcar to Dallas Area Rapid Transit. The company delivered the unit six months ahead of contractual delivery. The latest streetcar followed a base order of two vehicles delivered in spring 2015. The Liberty Streetcar is the first off-wire capable streetcar to operate in the United States, company officials said in a press release. Brookville also is manufacturing streetcars for Detroit's M-1 Rail, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee.

Harsco Corp. reported a diluted loss per share of 35 cents in second-quarter 2016, compared with diluted earnings per share of 8 cents in the same quarter last year. Operating income came in at $1 million versus $36 million in Q2 2015. Revenue clocked in at $370 million compared with $456 million last year. The company's results included a loss provision related to its railway maintenance equipment contracts with SBB, the federal railway system in Switzerland. Excluding this item, Harsco reported diluted earnings of 15 cents per share and an operating income of $41 million. The company's rail segment reported Q2 2016 revenue of $50 million, compared with $70 million during the quarter last year. The rail unit logged an operating loss of $32 million versus an operating income of $11 million in Q2 2015. Excluding the SBB-related loss provision, Harsco's rail group reported operating income of $8 million.

Ericsson and Bombardier have completed tests of LTE networks in rail networks at speeds of up to 124 mph. A total of 11 tests were conducted in a lab to determine the ability of the LTE networks to support communications-based train control (CBTC) and "multiservice solutions," Ericsson officials said in a press release. Examples of multiservice solutions include closed-circuit television, advertising, and Wi-Fi for passengers. CBTC uses high-resolution location determination and high-capacity data communications — such as those enabled by LTE networks — to support automatic train protection, operation and supervision functions, according to the company.

TranSystems Corp. has added Jeffrey Stiles as market sector leader for the passenger rail and transit sector. He will lead and provide strategic direction for the growing practice, which serves passenger-rail and transit organizations coast to coast. Before joining TranSystems, Stiles served as national director for transit planning and environmental services at another consulting firm. He has more than 30 years of management experience and direct client service throughout the Northeast United States and Florida, as well as other locations throughout the country.

HNTB Corp. has hired Aaron Marx as project manager of positive train control (PTC) systems. He serves as a technical resource for the firm and works with public- and private-sector clients across the United States. He has 15 years of experience providing design, PTC and signaling solutions and has worked on high-profile projects nationally, HNTB officials said in a press release. Before joining the firm, Marx worked at another firm as deputy project manager for Caltrain's communications-based overlay signal systems (CBOSS) PTC project.