Rail supplier news from American Railcar, Vossloh, GE, Alstom, Thales, Jacobs and T.Y. Lin International (Oct. 11)

American Railcar Industries Inc. announced President and Chief Executive Officer James Cowan has resigned to pursue other interests. The board has appointed Jeffrey Hollister president and interim CEO. Hollister has more than 23 years of experience in operations and financial management. He has been with the company since 2005, serving in various senior financial and operations roles.

The Vossloh Group has obtained a contract from Swifambo Rail Leasing in South Africa for the supply of 70 EURODual locomotives for passenger-rail service. Swifambo will supply the locomotives to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, which is revamping and expanding its fleet with Vossloh locomotives. The complete contract is valued at $338 million. The first units are scheduled to ship to South Africa in second-quarter 2014.

Earlier this week, GE launched 14 new Industrial Internet Predictivty technologies that are designed to enable global industries to achieve minimal unplanned downtime, increased productivity, preventive maintenance, lower fuel costs and reduced emissions. Among the products are a Rail Connect 360 Monitoring and Diagnostics and ShipperConnect solution for the rail industry.

Today, Alstom Chief Executive Officer Patrick Kron unveiled the first stone of the SILKY building in the Carré de Soie district of Villeurbanne, which is slated to house Alstom Transport's railway electronics business by 2015. The move will give Alstom a presence in France's Greater Lyon area for the long term, company officials said in a press release. The site will be a showcase for France's high-tech rail industry, they added.

Thales and its client, Transport for Greater Manchester, recently marked the launch of the Metrolink tram passenger-service extension to Ashton-under-Lyne from Droylsden in Tameside, England. The extension was delivered several months ahead of schedule, bringing the total size of the Greater Manchester Metrolink network to 47.7 miles, according to a company press release. Thales' Tram Management System was the chosen solution for the design, build, installation, verification and validation for the light-rail extension.

Jacobs Associates has formed a business division — Jacobs Associates Construction Managers — that will build on the firm's construction management practice. The division will be led by Rafeal Castro, a principal at the firm, and focus on heavy civil and underground construction projects. The firm recently made the first in a series of strategic hires to expand the CM leadership team with the additions of John Kaplin and Judy Cochran.

T.Y. Lin International (TYLI) has promoted Vincent Montgomery and Paula Pienton to the rank of vice president for the transit and rail business line. Since joining the firm in February, Montgomery has served as national director of freight rail. Pienton joined the firm in 2012 as regional market sector lead for transit and rail in TYLI's central region.