Rail supplier news from RailComm, Bombardier, Greenbrier, Mervis Railcar, Laird, Parsons Brinckerhoff and CG/LA Infrastructure (Oct. 31)

RailComm has been chosen to replace the communication infrastructure for the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon's CTC dispatch system at 10 locations. The transit agency will use RailComm's protocol and communication solution, which is designed for reliability and robustness. Control for the locations will be provided via a Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) system, which is RailComm’s proprietary dispatch systems application.

Bombardier Transportation reported third-quarter revenue rose 12 percent to $2.3 billion, compared with $2.1 billion for the same period last year. New orders reached $1.1 billion, bringing the total orders to $10.8 billion for the first nine months of the year. This translates into an order backlog of $34.5 billion as of Sept. 30 compared with $32.4 billion on Dec. 31, 2013.

The Greenbrier Cos. Inc. reported net earnings for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year totaled $33.7 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, on record revenue of $618.1 million. The results exclude a non-cash gain of $13.6 million (net of tax) on contribution of the repair operations to GBW Railcar Services L.L.C., a joint venture with Watco Cos. L.L.C. Net earnings attributable to Greenbrier for the fiscal quarter, which includes the gain on contribution to GBW, were $47.4 million, or $1.43 per diluted share. Greenbrier achieved a record rail-car backlog as of Aug. 31 at 31,500 units compared with 26,400 units on May 31. Orders for 10,400 new cars valued at $1.06 billion were received during the quarter. After the quarter ended, Greenbrier received orders for an additional 11,400 units valued at nearly $1 billion.

Mervis Railcar, a division of Mervis Industries, plans to establish a rail-car refurbishing facility in Hutchinson, Kan. The $35 million facility will employ 150 people in three years.  Hutchinson was selected as the location following a multi-state search process, according to a company press release.

Global technology firm Laird opened a new manufacturing plant in Warren, Ohio. The more than 80,000-square-foot plant will produce a full line of wireless communication and remote-control products, according to a company press release. The facility also includes space for research and development and after-market customer support functions.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has been named project management consultant for Adani Mining Pty Ltd.’s multibillion-dollar Carmichael coal integrated mine, port and rail project in the Galilee Basin in western Queensland, Australia. The Carmichael project is an open-cut and underground operation with an anticipated yield of 60 million tons per year, and is one of the largest thermal coal pit-rail-port projects currently under development worldwide, according to a Parsons Brinckerhoff press release. The firm will be responsible for managing and providing assurance services for the multiple engineering, procurement and construction contracts on behalf of Adani Mining.

The Texas Central Railway's high-speed rail proposal recently was named a 2014 Finance Project of the Year by CG/LA Infrastructure Inc., which presented its annual Projects of the Year Awards during the 6th North American Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C.