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• A Kawasaki Heavy Industries/CSR Qingdao Sifang consortium has obtained a $251 million contract from Singapore’s Land Transport to provide 22 six-car trains for the North-South and East-West lines. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2011 and conclude in 2012.

• Engineering and construction management firm STV has launched STV Canada Consulting Inc., which will provide various services to the Canadian market. In addition, STV established its first Canadian office in Toronto, which initially will serve the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). STV recently won a 10-year, $125 million program management contract from the TTC to provide oversight for the Transit City Light-Rail Transit Program.

• Meridian Partners has obtained a contract from RailAmerica Inc. to upgrade and provide support services for the short-line holding company’s SAP applications. RailAmerica has more than 200 SAP users and uses the business software for financial and human resource management, and purchasing functions, Meridian Partners said.

• American Railcar Industries Inc. (ARI) reported first-quarter revenue of $156.9 million and net earnings of $2.7 million compared with $184 million and $10.1 million, respectively, in first-quarter 2008. The company shipped 1,491 rail cars in the quarter compared with 1,902 units in first-quarter 2008. On March 31, ARI’s backlog stood at 2,752 cars vs. 10, 077 cars on March 31, 2008.

• The Andersons Inc. reported first-quarter revenue of $697 million and net income of $5 million compared with $713 million and $7.8 million, respectively, in first-quarter 2008. The Rail Group's revenue fell from $35 million to $27 million and operating income plunged from $6.4 million to $900,000. The group’s fleet now comprises 23,700 rail cars and locomotives, representing a 2 percent decline from the fleet’s size at the end of first-quarter 2008. The group’s average utilization rate tumbled from 93.4 percent in first-quarter 2008 to 86.8 percent.

• Railinc will conduct town hall meetings and online training sessions for its new Umler system. Webinars will begin in late May and town hall meetings will begin in June in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. The new Umler system is on track and for a July 25 launch, Railinc said.

• International rail consultant Interfleet Technology Inc. has named Timothy Zimmer vice president of marketing. He has 25 years of rail equipment and engineered products experience. Zimmer previously held such senior management positions as director of corporate marketing, director of sales and VP of marketing at Geislinger Corp., Griswold Machine & Engineering, Rockwell International and Atchison Casting.

• Global Railway Industries Ltd. announced Phil Ogden has resigned from its board. He had served as a director since December 2002.