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• Cubic Transportation Systems Inc. was awarded a $15 million contract to design, deliver and provide services for a new “smart card” ticketing and revenue management system for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates the Tri-Rail commuter-rail service. The system will be interoperable with Miami-Dade County’s EASY CARD system, according to a prepared statement. Tri-Rail’s transaction monitoring, processing, settlement and reporting will be handled by Miami-Dade Transit through the back-office system of Cubic’s Nextfare® open software and hardware platform.

• Yesterday, Wabtec Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2009 sales of $359.2 million, an 11.4 percent decrease compared with fourth-quarter 2008 sales of 405.2 million as “increased sales in the Transit Group were offset by lower sales in the Freight Group,” according to a prepared statement. But fourth-quarter 2009 sales were 9 percent higher than third-quarter 2009 sales, with both transit and freight sales “showing an increase.” For fiscal 2009, Wabtec reported sales of $1.4 billion, a 10.8 percent decline compared with FY2008’s $1.57 billion. Wabtec generated cash flow from operations of $161 million, or 11.5 percent of sales — the 12th-straight year cash flow from operations exceeded net income, according to the company. As for 2010: Wabtec officials said they expect revenue to be “flat to slightly up.”

• Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has begun commercial production of “Standard Strength” rails that meet all current AREMA specifications. The rail also has been “tested and qualified” by the first of seven North American Class Is, with shipments expected to begin during the second quarter, according to a prepared statement issued by SDI. Other Class Is are conducting evaluations that are “expected to result in additional approvals in the near future,” according to the company. The company’s Structural & Rail Division in Columbia City, Ind., is producing rail in lengths up to 240 feet.

• Progress Rail Services’ Galesburg, Ill., facility is now rail served. The 11-plus acre facility, which primarily recycles metals, now can receive rail cars for dismantling; it also can ship prepared scrap by rail via BNSF Railway Co. To accommodate the new services, Progress Rail will move its current Galesburg retail scrap operations to a “nearby location” in the coming months, according to a prepared statement. The company also plans to fill about 10 new positions at the Galesburg location in the next few weeks.  

• On Feb. 20, longtime rail supply industry executive Joseph Silverio died following a battle with cancer. He was 61. Silverio most recently served as senior marketing manager with American Railcar Industries Inc. in St. Charles, Mo.; he also was an adjunct professor of marketing at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in honor of his grandson, brother-in-law and nephew.