Rail supplier news from Hitachi Rail and Keolis

Hitachi Rail has accepted a contract from the Spanish Railway Infrastructure Administrator to adapt the signaling and telecommunications systems at the Port of Seville for a new direct access freight-rail line. Currently, freight trains at the port have to maneuver through reversals and passings at stations on the Seville commuter-rail network. The new line will provide an alternative, freight-only access point to the port, Hitachi Rail officials said in a press release. Hitachi Rail will install new track circuits, axle counters, electromechanical point machines and other components. The company also will upgrade traffic control systems in both the port's local operations center and the centralized traffic control center in Seville Santa Justa train station. The contract's value was not disclosed in the press release.

Keolis Commuter Services' Kay O'Neil was named a Champion of Commuter Rail by the Commuter Rail Coalition at its annual meeting Nov. 3-5 in Washington, D.C. Keolis is the operations and maintenance partner for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). O'Neil has played a key part in advancing public transportation in Boston and around the world, Keolis officials said in a press release. She was honored with the Doty Award, named for the late rail leader Robert Doty, Keolis officials said. O'Neil entered the rail industry in the 1970s and held roles at the Boston & Maine Railroad and the MBTA. She later founded KKO and Associates, a consulting firm that provided software solutions to commuter railroads across the globe, including in major U.S. cities like Boston, New York, Miami and Chicago.