Rail supplier news from CH2M, Bombardier, LAN, AllTranstek and SIFER (March 8)

Valley Metro Rail tapped Hill International and CH2M to serve as program and construction management consultants on the agency's future high-capacity transit projects. Those projects include Phoenix's first streetcar, a new light-rail station on an existing line and a light-rail extension. Under the five-year contract, CH2M will serve as principal subconsultant working with Valley Metro Rail and Hill International to provide cost and schedule control, monitor and report on project progress, manage risk and design, and assist with procurement.

Bombardier Transportation and Zurich Public Transport in Switzerland have signed a contract for the delivery of 70 Flexity low-floor streetcars. The base price for the vehicles is valued at $296 million. The contract also includes an option for 70 additional units. The first vehicles are slated to be delivered at 2019's end.

The city of Ennis, Texas, has selected Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN) to develop a safety zone along Union Pacific Railroad track between the intersections of Martin Luther King Drive and Lampasas Street. The project calls for studying and developing modifications to Ennis Avenue railroad profiles to create a new grade-separated crossing. LAN will provide track, structural and civil engineering, along with railroad coordination and project management services for the project. The project also includes pedestrian accommodation elements and safety features along the railroad right-of-way and at crossings.

AllTranstek LLC has hired Andy Schaffer as chief operating officer. He will be responsible for operating the firm's technical service departments, including fleet management, client services, regulatory compliance, nondestructive testing/special processes and inspection services. Schaffer previously served as senior vice president at GBW Railcar Services and Watco Mechanical Services. He also spent more than 30 years in labor and managerial positions at Rescar Cos. Meanwhile, AllTranstek also hired Jan Marino as manager of business development. She has more than 20 years of commercial rail-car industry experience and previously served as account manager at Salco Products. Marino also worked at GE Rail Services, where she helped enhance business relationships in her sales and customer service roles, AllTranstek officials said.

The SIFER international rail trade show will held March 21-23 in Lille Grand Palais, France. The event, which has been held every two years since 1999, brings together industry contractors, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, subcontractors and public transit agencies, SIFER officials said in a press release. This year's show will feature a roundtable discussion with officials from CNES, France's space agency. The conversation will center on satellite location for rail signaling.