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• Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD) and South Africa’s Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE) recently rolled out the first GT26CU-3/Class 39-200 locomotive at TRE’s Koedoespoort, South Africa, facility — the first new diesel locomotive to be delivered to Transnet Freight Rail in 20 years. Transnet Freight Rail will receive the balance of its 50-unit order by the end of the third quarter. More than 40 percent of the locomotives’ parts will be sourced in South Africa, marking a long-term relationship between EMD and TRE to build or rebuild locomotives and locomotive sub-assemblies. During the past 40 years, EMD has delivered more than 600 diesel-electric locomotives to Transnet Freight Rail.

• Ansaldo STS obtained a $23 million contract from Siemens to provide onboard ERTMS level 2 equipment for 15 next-generation, high-speed Velaro D trains to be operated by Germany's Deutsche Bahn AG. In addition to supplying 30 onboard ERTMS level 2 units, Ansaldo will be responsible for integrating all onboard systems on the trains, enabling them to transition from conventional systems to next-generation ERTMS level 2.

• Vossloh AG reported 2008 sales of $1.6 billion, up 18.5 percent compared with 2007 sales. Group earnings jumped from $97 million in 2007 to $190 million. The Rail Infrastructure Division’s annual sales totaling $963 million rose 27.6 percent, primarily because fastening system sales jumped 28.5 percent, driven by strong demand in China and Turkey. Switch system sales increased 29.9 percent. Meanwhile, the Motive Power & Components Division reported annual sales of $688 million, up 7.7 percent. Locomotive sales accounted for the majority of the year-over-year increase.

• The Netherlands Railways is using IBM’s ILOG OPL-CPLEX® system to enhance rolling stock utilization. The ILOG optimization technology is helping the railway improve operating efficiency by as much as 6 percent, IBM said. The railway — which manages more than 4,800 trains per day and a network featuring 279 stations — also has improved on-time performance for more than 1 million riders daily. Meanwhile, China’s Guangzhou Metro Corp. has contracted IBM to improve its rapid-transit system, which serves more than 2 million passengers daily. IBM will help the metro manage all its information technology and physical assets, including four commuter-rail lines, 60 stations and more than 72 miles of track.