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• GE Transportation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan’s Joint Stock Co. Locomitiv and Joint Stock Co. Kurastyru Zauty for 150 shunter locomotives. The three companies plan to jointly develop shunter diesel-electric locomotives designed for use in the Republic of Kazakhstan and across the Commonwealth of Independent States.

• Thales has received a $27.2 million contract from the Spanish Railway for the implementation of a bi-directional automatic block system between Aranjuez and Alcazar de San Juan in the regions of Madrid and Castilla La Mancha. The project involves a 62.1-mile segment featuring electrified double track.

• SNC-Lavalin announced Chinook Roads Partnership, its new joint venture with Acciona, has received a $767.8 million contract from Alberta Transportation to design, build, operate, maintain and partially finance the southeast section of Calgary’s Stoney Trail Ring Road. Under the 30-year partnership, Chinook Roads Partnership will design and build 15.5 miles of six-lane road including nine interchanges, one road flyover, two rail flyovers and 27 bridge structures. Construction is set to begin in May and the road is scheduled to be open to traffic by fall 2013.

• Powerbrace Corp. has opted to extend its agreement for services in Mexico with Offshore Group until 2017. Powerbrace began operations at The Offshore Group’s La Angostura Industrial Park in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, in 2005. The Powerbrace Rail Products division manufactures outlet gates and brake beams for the rail industry.

• The Alstom Group has appointed Henri Poupart-Lafarge executive vice president and president of a new sector that will regroup the electricity transmission activities after of the Areva T&D acquisition is completed. Poupart-Lafarge currently is chief financial officer of Alstom. Nicholas Tissot will succeed Poupart-Lafarge as CFO. Tissot currently is deputy chief executive officer of GDF-Suez’s Global Gas & LNG business.

• Vanasse Hangen Brustin Inc. has acquired MSCW, an Orlando, Fla.-based planning and engineering firm. The merged companies will conduct business in Florida as VHB MillerSellen.

• GE Rail Services received an Enterprise Excellence Award from SAS, a business analytics, software and services company. GE Rail uses SAS for data extraction, modeling and statistical analysis, and employs SAS Business Intelligence software.

• Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc. has expanded its operations in Canada and will co-locate with Balfour Beatty Capital in Toronto. Both companies are part of Balfour Beatty plc.