Rail supplier news from CAF, Alstom, Bombardier, PML2, I.D. Systems, CH2M HILL, Nossaman; and, in memoriam: Bruce Jabbonsky (July 23)

ADIF Alta Velocidad has awarded a CAF Signalling-led consortium a $132.8 million contract to develop the Vandellós-Tarragona section of the Mediterranean Corridor and its connection with the high-speed Madrid-Barcelona-French border line. The contract calls for implementing the work and providing 20 years of maintenance services for the signal box installations, Level 2 ERTMS train protection systems, fixed telecommunication systems, centralized traffic control, and auxiliary safety and protection systems.

Alstom has commissioned the new Málaga Metro signaling system on lines 1 and 2, which officially enters service on July 30. It is based on Alstom's Urbalis 400 CBTC, a train-control system using radio communication to provide real-time information about the location of trains. The contract's scope includes a complete UrbalisTM solution: the CBTC wireless local area network for train control, Smartlock™ 400 interlocking, trackside equipment, and Automatic Train Supervision.

Bombardier Transportation recently marked the official opening of its new Bogie Technical Center in Siegen, Germany. The center will be used to develop and test Bombardier's FLEXX bogie portfolio. The Siegen site will form a production and innovation hub, which will comprise Bombardier's bogies headquarters, the new technical center, the existing final assembly area, Wheelset Center, and a crash repair and overhaul center.

The Secretariat of the Panama Metro announced the contract for Metro Line 2's project management has been awarded to a PML2 consortium. The winning consortium is comprised of Ayesa Ingenieria y Arquitectura S.A., the Louis Berger Group Inc. and Metro de Barcelona. Metro Line 2 will be incorporated into the master network of the Panama Metro through a direct connection with the San Miguelito Station on Line 1, and runs through Diciembre 24 and Nuevo Tocumen.

I.D. Systems Inc. has appointed Norman Ellis chief operating officer. He will be responsible for sales, marketing, customer service, implementation and support. Prior to joining I.D. Systems, Ellis spent 16 years at Omnitracs, a provider of fleet management solutions and a division of Qualcomm.

Gary McArthur will join CH2M HILL as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Aug. 4. He joins the firm from Harris Corp., where he served as CFO since 2006 and in various other financial positions since 1997. At CH2M HILL, he will lead global financial operations. McArthur has more than 25 years of financial reporting experience with Securities and Exchange Commission-registered companies.

Nossaman L.L.P. has welcomed back Washington, D.C.-based attorney Ann-Therese Schmid as a partner in the firm's infrastructure practice. She was previously a member of Nossaman's Infrastructure practice in the firm's Austin office from 2005 through 2006. Schmid has national expertise in a number of innovative project delivery methods including design-build, construction management at risk, privatization, and integrated project delivery.

Bruce Jabbonsky, vice president of STV's Transportation and Infrastructure Division in New York City, died on July 13 after a long illness. He had served the firm for 25 years. Jabbonsky played a major role in the design and project management of a number of iconic buildings and facilities. For 15 years, he was the driving force behind the massive restoration and expansion of the Hoboken Terminal and Yard Complex in New Jersey. Most recently, he returned to Hoboken Terminal to manage its Superstorm Sandy Recovery Program. He also managed the modernization of the Union Square subway complex and the rehabilitation of the 66th Street Subway Station for MTA-New York City Transit.