Rail supplier news from BLS Cargo, Thales, Trinity, Alstom, Bombardier and Behlman Electronics (April 10)

BLS Cargo AG, a rail cargo subsidiary of BLS, last month ordered 15 Vectron MS multisystem locomotives from Siemens. The vehicles, which are capable of reaching speeds up to 124 miles per hour, will be used for cross-border service in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands.

Thales obtained an $18.1 million contract to design and manufacture signaling, communications and operational control center systems for Taiwan's Danhai light-rail transit project. Slated for completion in 2018, the line will run 6.2 miles. The Taiwanese government has additional plans to build four other similar lines within the next four to seven years, Thales officials said in a statement.

Trinity Industries Leasing Co. has renewed its railcar leasing warehouse facility through April 2018, the company announced. It also has increased the facility's capacity from $475 million to $1 billion, which will support the company's ability to originate new railcar leases, company officials said in a statement.

Alstom and Shanghai Rail Traffic Equipment Development Co. have been awarded a $76 million contract to provide 30 Citadis trams for the first tramway lines in Songjiang, a suburban district of Shanghai. The trains will run along 19.2 miles of the first two lines, which are expected to be in operation by 2017.

Bombardier announced yesterday that Pierre Alary, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the company, has made plans to retire. Alary will remain in his current position until a successor is named.

Behlman Electronics, which provides signal sources and frequency converters for the rail industry, has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification for its quality management system handling the design, manufacture and repair of various power sources, converters and inverters. The certification covers commercial, industry and military applications. Organizations obtain the certification by adhering to several quality management principles, such as strong customer focus, motivation and involvement of top management, and continual improvement, according to a Behlman press release.