Rail supplier news from Chicago Freight, Stadler, RAIL.ONE, BMT, Trinity and Parsons Brinckerhoff (April 30)

Chicago Freight Car Leasing Co., a Sasser Family Holdings Inc. subsidiary, has finalized delivery of 200 new tank cars to customers in the agricultural and renewable energy sectors. "The acquisition of these and future tank cars will allow us to bring customer-focused solutions and our brand of superior customer service to existing customers in new markets, as well as new customers," Chicago Freight Car Leasing President Paul Deasy said in a press release. The company noted that it has made additional new tank-car investments for delivery in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Stadler Rail obtained a $58 million order for eight GTW trains from Bay Area Rapid Transit. The diesel multiple units (2/6 articulated power units) are based on the 37 trains that Stadler has delivered to Texas and New Jersey in the past few years. The units will be produced at Stadler's factory in Bussnang, Switzerland.

The RAIL.ONE Group, which manufactures concrete ties and provides rail-mounted track systems, opened a new factory yesterday in Clinton, Iowa. Construction of the $22 million plant, which is one of the company's largest production facilities, began in 2013. The plant will manufacture RAIL.ONE's heavy duty concrete tie that meets AREMA specifications as well as those meeting a European standard, according to a company press release. The plant is projected to produce about 600,000 ties annually.

BMT Asia Pacific (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, has been appointed by Shinryo Corp. to provide system assurance and risk management services for the extension of Hong Kong’s MTR metro system managed by MTR Corp. Ltd. Appointed by MTR, Shinryo is responsible for the design and construction of the Shatin to Central Link Phase 1-East West Line tunnel environmental control system.

Trinity Industries Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $226.4 million, or $2.85 per common diluted share, compared with $79.1 million, or 99 cents per share — including $6.6 million, or 8 cents per share, from discontinued operations — in first-quarter 2013. Revenue for the quarter rose 57 percent to $1.5 billion compared with $933 million a year ago. First-quarter results benefited from a lower effective tax rate of 32.5 percent primarily due to certain domestic manufacturing tax deductions, lower state taxes and the partnership tax status of the company’s non-controlling interests, Trinity officials said in a press release. The rail group received orders for 9,625 new rail cars during the quarter, resulting in a record backlog of 42,630 units with a record value of $5.2 billion, they said.

Parsons Brinckerhoff recently named Corinne Olivier a senior supervising construction engineer in Washington, D.C., where she will provide program management support for transit construction projects undertaken on behalf of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The firm also appointed Andy Paluri as New Jersey area manager; Yazeed Khayyat, a design manager in Lawrenceville, N.J., where he will oversee systems engineering projects on behalf of WMATA; and Kenneth Jackson, a systems integration manager in New York City, where he will be responsible for managing testing and systems integration for the Second Avenue Subway project.