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• Today, GE Transportation announced its intent to acquire software provider RMI from The Carlyle Group. Pending regulatory approval anticipated for early 2012, the acquisition would expand GE’s Software and Optimization Solutions business to serve railroad customers worldwide, GE officials said in a prepared statement. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. RMI generates annual revenue of $45 million and provides transportation management software for railroads, rail shippers, rail-car leasing companies and intermodal services in North America.

• Siemens AG plans to create 500 new “green” jobs in Africa in the coming years, Siemens President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Loscher announced recently after a meeting of the company’s global board members in South Africa. “Siemens will increasingly look to rapidly growing economies like Africa to meet our growth targets,” he said in a prepared statement. “Creating local green jobs will enable us to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly products and services throughout Africa.” By 2012, the company wants to triple new orders in Africa from 2009 levels to $4 billion, according to a Siemens press release.

• Cubic Transportation Systems soon will provide Nordhessicher Verkehrsverbund (NVV) with a mobile service for rail and bus travel planning and ticketing in Germany. NVV is one of three authorities that provide public transportation in the German state of Hessen. Cubic has customized the mobile ticketing service for NVV, according to a company press release.

• The Neel Co. announced 90,000 square feet of its T-WALL® Retaining Wall System is being constructed to elevate a Union Pacific Railroad line along Irving Park Road as part of the O’Hare International Airport expansion project in Chicago. The UP line, Irving Park Road and the Bensenville Ditch are being moved several thousand feet south of the current alignment to make way for a new runway, according to a company press release.

• Spartan Solutions has named Susan Borinsky director of planning services and Eric Forbes, chief of staff. Borinsky will lead client infrastructure planning and development services at the firm’s new headquarters in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the firm, she was associate administrator for planning and environment for the Federal Transit Administration, where she directed evaluation of major transit projects seeking New Starts and Small Starts funding. Forbes will administer the firm’s client-satisfaction efforts and manage day-to-day operations. Forbes also serves as deputy executive director of the Association of Independent Passenger Rail Operators.

• Alfred Benesch & Co. has appointed Walter Rymsza to its rail team. He will serve as senior project manager and director of railroad structures, according to a company press release.