Rail supplier news from Wabtec, GE, Masabi and NRC; and in memoriam: Dan O'Neal (Oct. 12)

Alstom and Bombardier Transportation have awarded contracts worth more than $100 million to Faiveley Transport to supply systems for the first 71 next-generation double-deck trains in Paris. The trains eventually will run on lines D and E of the city's passenger-rail work. A subsidiary of Wabtec Corp., Faiveley will provide braking systems, door systems, HVAC equipment, pantographs and tachometer systems. The scope of work includes studying, designing, engineering, manufacturing and delivering the rail systems, Wabtec officials said in a press release. Deliveries are expected to start by September 2018 and wrap up by 2022. France's national rail network SNCF earlier this year inked a contract for up to 255 trains with an Alstom-Bombardier consortium.

GE Transportation this week marked the arrival of the first of 1,000 Evolution series locomotives ordered by Indian Railways. The locomotive arrived at India's Mundra Port. The unit will be the first diesel-electric locomotive running on Indian tracks that complies with the UIC1 international emissions standards, GE officials said in a press release. Forty Evolution series locomotives are being imported to India from the United States; the remaining 960 units will be built at GE's factory under construction and slated to open in 2018 in Bihar. India's Ministry of Railways in 2015 signed a $2.5 billion order for 1,000 of GE's Evolution Series locomotives.

Masabi on Monday unveiled account-based ticketing capabilities for its JustRide platform. The technology enables riders to board using stored value from their cloud-based JustRide account. This means passengers can pay for a journey after it's taken place, Masabi officials said in a press release. The new system features "flexible architecture" that enables a mix of fare types, as well as pre-pay and account-based tickets, company officials added.

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) has opened applications for its awards program honoring the railroad construction projects of the year and a field employee of the year. The two categories in the NRC's railroad construction project of the year are the large project category for projects with budgets above $10 million, and the small project category for projects with budgets of $10 million or less. Any type of rail construction project is eligible for the award, including work related to freight rail, industrial track, intercity passenger rail, rail on port facilities and rail on military facilities. The field employee of the year award recognizes a rail contracting field employee who has demonstrated dedication and excellence in his or her job. NRC also has begun accepting applications for new inductees into its "hall of fame," which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the association and the rail construction and maintenance industry. All applications are due by Nov. 10. More information can be found at this link.

Former Greenbrier Cos. Inc. board member Dan O'Neal died at his home on Oct. 10. He was 81. O'Neal worked at Greenbrier for more than 30 years, including as director of the company's Gunderson subsidiary from 1985 to 2005. He also served as chairman of Greenbrier Intermodal from 1984 to 1994, chairman of Autostack from 1984 to 1994, and chairman of Greenbrier Logistics from 1996 to 1997. O'Neal became a member of Greenbrier's board at the time of the company's initial public offering in 1994. He served on the board until 2016. O'Neal is credited with helping pioneer the market for the double-stack intermodal rail car that is still built at Gunderson, Greenbrier officials said in a statement. "For more than three decades, Greenbrier was the beneficiary of Dan's keen insights on federal affairs and his deep understanding of the often inscrutable ways of operating inside the Beltway," said William Furman, Greenbrier's chairman and chief executive officer.