Rail supplier news from New York Air Brake, WSP, Alstom and HDR (Sept. 30)

New York Air Brake LLC (NYAB) has announced a realignment strategy for its North American manufacturing operations. Among the actions, NYAB will launch production in Acuna, Mexico, and shift capacity and production scope at three U.S.-based NYAB facilities: Salisbury, North Carolina; Nixa, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. The company will also complete a substantial manufacturing refocus in Watertown to become a machining operation.

Deborah Brown, vice president and national director of alternative delivery at WSP USA, received the Ethel S. Birchland Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The award is presented to a woman who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and long-term service in the transportation design and construction industry, and dedication to the advancement of innovation and other women leaders. Brown has provided P3 advisory services for numerous high-profile projects, including the Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line light rail. ARTBA also presented its Leadership Impact Award to Rolando Amaya, senior vice president and capital district leader for WSP, for his contributions to the transportation industry. Amaya, who joined the firm in 2009, serves on WSP’s Inclusion and Diversity Council, and was part of the team that developed WSP’s inclusion and diversity strategic plan.

An Alstom-led consortium with Taiwanese engineering and contracting services company CTCI has been awarded a contract by the Systemwide E&M Project Office Department of Rapid Transit Systems of Taipei City Government to provide an integrated metro system for Taipei Circular Line Phase II. Valued close to 720 million euros, this order for the city’s fully automated metro line marks the recent consortium’s second turnkey metro project in Taiwan after the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin Line. Under the contract with its share at over 430 million euros, Alstom will also renew the signaling system for Phase I of the Circular Line.

Eric Venable recently joined HDR as the new federal transportation director. Working closely with leaders of other HDR practices that provide services to the U.S. federal government, Venable will lead business and staff development for transportation. He will collaborate frequently with diverse HDR experts to maximize opportunities in transportation technology and equitable transit-oriented development, among other fields. Most recently, Venable was director of ports and maritime for another firm.