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• The Sinara Group, Siemens AG and Russian Railways (RZD) recently signed an agreement regarding the manufacture and supply of Russian locomotives with asynchronous traction. Under the agreement, RZD, Sinara Group and Siemens AG will organize locomotive and locomotive parts production in Russia on “mutually advantageous terms, and define the general principles of cooperation between the parties,” according to a RZD-issued statement. An “experimental version” of the new locomotive will be produced in 2010; details regarding the manufacture and procurement program going forward will be determined based on RZD’s capex plans, RZD said. Locomotive parts — including traction transformers, traction motors and gearing — will be manufactured by Siemens or one of its subsidiaries inside the Russian Federation.

• China Advanced Construction Materials Group Inc. (China ACM) was awarded two contracts totaling $4.1 million to provide concrete manufacturing services for the soon-to-be-built Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway, a 93-mile high-speed rail system. China ACM will supply 500,000 cubic meters of concrete for the project, which is expected to open by mid-2011. Train speed on the line will “approach 188 mph,” reducing travel time between Hangzhou City and Ningbo City to less than one hour, according to a prepared statement.

• Morton Manufacturing Co. recently named Michael Ogden president to succeed Jeffery Covert, who is retiring. Ogden, who joined Morton Manufacturing in 1990 as sales manager, most recently served as executive vice president. He has been “extremely instrumental in the rapid growth of both the industrial and railroad divisions,” said Morton Chairman William Morton in a prepared statement.

• FreightScan L.L.C. opened a new office in Costa Rica, citing increasing Latin American economic development and growing interest in FreightScan’s suite of automated cargo scanning systems. FreightScan also named Luis Paredes director of Latin America. An air cargo industry veteran, Paredes also is president and CEO of A.E.H. Group S.A. and AEROEXPESS Costa Rica.

• HLS Systems International Ltd. has changed its name to Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. However, there are no changes to the company’s corporate structure, management team or business operations. Hollysys Automation Technologies provides automation and control systems, including programmable logic controllers, high-speed rail train control centers and automatic train protection systems, in China.