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• FreightCar America Inc. reported third-quarter sales of $238 million and net income of $7.4 million vs. $162.1 million and $8.7 million, respectively, in third-quarter 2007. The company received orders for 2,329 rail cars compared with 1,436 units in the second quarter and 1,262 units in third-quarter 2007. The firm’s backlog stood at 4,401 units on Sept. 30 vs. 4,930 units a year earlier.

• Trinity Industries Inc. reported third-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $91.5 million vs. $87.2 million in third-quarter 2007. Net income reached a record $90.1 million (vs. $87 million a year ago) and revenue totaled $1.15 billion (vs. $1 billion). TrinityRail® delivered 8,560 rail cars and obtained orders for 4,010 cars. The subsidiary’s backlog on Sept. 30 stood at 24,130 cars valued at about $2 billion compared with 31,300 cars valued at $2.6 billion on Sept. 30, 2007. Trinity Industries Leasing Co.’s fleet swelled to 43,910 cars vs. 35,890 cars at the end of third-quarter 2007.

• Safetran Systems Corp. has appointed Don Channell director of sales.  He will head sales activities for all North American freight-rail signaling and communications systems and products. Channell has 18 years’ experience in the rail supply industry, and has held various general, marketing and sales management positions.

• Chinese firm Minmetals won a $300 million contract from Russian mining and metals company Mechel OAO to construct a rail and structural steel mill at a metallurgical plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The mill will produce rails up to 80 feet in length for the Russian Railways through a partnership with Mechel.

• Vossloh AG’s third-quarter sales rose about 24 percent, group sales jumped 30 percent and order intake surged 47 percent compared with third-quarter 2007 totals. The company’s rail infrastructure division reported sales growth of about 36 percent. Fastening system sales jumped 40 percent — primarily because of rail fastener orders in China — and switch system sales increased 30 percent. Motive power and components division sales rose 11 percent on the strength of locomotive and electrical systems business.