Rail supplier news from Bombardier, Rail.One, Lilee, Siemens and Unmanned Experts (Aug. 25)

Bombardier Transportation has received an order from the German regional rail authority LNVG to provide rail vehicle service and fleet maintenance. Bombardier also assumed the "registered keeper role" for 220 Bombardier Twindexx Vario double-deck rail cars, 29 Bombardier Traxx electric locomotives and eight Traxx diesel locomotives from LNVG's pool. The German authority has outsourced fleet maintenance to Bombardier since delivery of its first trains in 2003. The new service and maintenance contract covers the complete lifecycle of LNVG's vehicles, or about 30 years.

Rail.One USA Corp. has named Robert Bogner chief executive officer of the company's North American operations. After several positions in different production companies, Bogner joined Rail.One a year ago as chief operating officer and plant manager. As CEO, he'll work to establish the company "as a brand of quality, reliability and innovation," Bogner said in a press release. Rail.One entered the U.S. market in 2014 with the opening of a plant for the production of prestressed concrete ties for Class I railroads. Rail.One is based in Germany.

Lilee Systems announced that Inc. magazine has listed the company on the publications's annual Inc. 5000 list. Lilee came in at number 179 on the list, which ranks the country's 5,000 fastest-growing private companies. During the past three years, Lilee has generated more than 2,000 percent revenue growth, company officials said in a press release. In addition, Lilee was ranked second among the top telecommunications companies in the Inc. 5000 list.

Siemens has been tapped to supply signaling technology for Turkey's mainline passenger-rail route. The 236-mile line links the Turkish port of Samsun on the Black Sea with the railway junction of Kalin in central Anatolia. Modernizing the signaling equipment is necessary to increase the trains' maximum speed from 43 mph to 74 mph. The route's commissioning is scheduled for 2017, Siemens officials said in a press release. Siemens is supplying the Trackguard Westrace electronic interlocking systems, point machines, grade crossing technology, communication technology and the European Train Control System Level 1 for the route, which covers 31 stations.

Unmanned Experts Inc. has completed an inspection of the Ottawa Lift Bridge in Ottawa, Ill., using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. The two-day operation was carried out by a fleet of UAVs that captured "ultra-high resolution" images used to produce both two- and three-dimensional renderings of the bridge from the sides, top and bottom. The bridge owners are using the inspection images to evaluate the integrity of trusses and joints and determine if any maintenance is needed for the century-old bridge.