Rail supplier news from Actasys, Hanson, Thales and GLX (Dec. 13)

Actasys Inc. has signed a development agreement with Alstom to implement Actasys' thermal management devices as part of Alstom's electric train control and monitoring systems. The thermal technology helps improve energy efficiency and cool down electric-powered trains and their systems. The technology combines diagnostic and predictive maintenance features, which reduces energy costs and improves maintenance outcomes, Actasys officials said in a press release. Actasys is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Hanson Professional Services Inc. renewed its $150,000 pledge to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC). The funds will be disbursed over five years. Hanson was founded by UIUC alum and former civil engineering faculty member Walter Hanson, who has been a longtime supporter of the program, Hanson officials said in a press release. RailTEC is recognized as one of North America’s premier rail engineering programs.

Thales renewed a contract valued at 25 million euros with Adif to install its falling object detection systems in field cabinets and associated equipment on the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line. The technology will replace the 235 old debris detection equipment (DCO) cabinets and will incorporate digital transmission systems for communication with interlockings. Thales will be responsible for renovating the main signaling installations as well as DCO detection meshes on the line’s overpasses. Thales also will equip the line with ERTMS Level 2 automatic train protection and more than 1,300 new track circuits.

Green Line Extension Constructors — a joint venture team consisting of Balfour Beatty, Fluor Enterprises Inc., The Middlesex Corp., STV Inc. and Herzog — recently completed work on the Medford Branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line extension project. The branch is the final line of two developed along the 4.7-mile light-rail extension, Balfour Beatty officials said in a press release. Crews built five new stations on the existing Lowell commuter-rail corridor extending from Lechmere Station in Cambridge to College Avenue at Tufts University. The project also called for the advancement of final-phase construction along the line, including adjustments to the overheard wire system on the East Cambridge viaduct; testing and integration of track switches, power lines, signal equipment and digital communications; and installation of sound wall panels.