Rail supplier news from GE Capital, Hub, HNTB, Ricardo, Hatch Mott MacDonald and OSPT Alliance (Dec. 11)

GE Capital, Rail Services has hired Elizabeth Busch as customer operations leader. The move enables Patrice Powers, who previously held the role, to focus on government and industry relations. Both are based at Rail Services' headquarters in Chicago. Since she joined Rail Services as associate general counsel in 1997, Powers has led sales efforts in Mexico and, most recently, led customer operations in addition to government and industry relations. Busch, who joined GE Capital in 2005, will lead the customer service, billing and collections, customer experience and quality teams. She joins Rail Services from GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance, where she was the senior operations manager leading a global team.

Hub Group received the 2014 Intermodal Provider of the Year award from GENCO. The awards' criteria includes on-time performance, EDI compliance, primary tender acceptance, claims performance and ease of doing business. "GENCO has been a valued customer for over 15 years, and it is an honor to receive this award, "said Chris Kravas, Hub Group's chief marketing officer, in a press release.

Christopher Coffman has joined HNTB Corp. as senior project manager of transit and rail. He has 25 years of experience in the management, planning, design and construction management of major civil works projects, including rail and transit. In his new position, Coffman will manage the rail and transit team in the firm’s Santa Ana, Calif., office. He also will provide technical support as a leader for rail design in HNTB's West Division. Prior to joining HNTB, Coffman served in a variety of project management positions on rail projects throughout Southern California.

Ricardo has delivered the latest generation of its TorqStor high-speed flywheel energy storage technology to digital hydraulics specialist Artemis Intelligent Power Ltd. for use on the DDflyTrain research project. Artemis is collaborating with Bombardier Transportation and Ricardo on the Innovate U.K.-funded DDflyTrain project.

TUV Rheinland has appointed Robert Djurovic managing director for U.S. systems. Djurovic will oversee the quality assurance initiatives for clients across all business fields. He joins TUV Rheinland with more than 15 years of leadership experience in the automotive and industrial marketplace. Djurovic has previously worked with start-up, turnaround and high-growth companies. 

Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) recently was named a 2014 winner in Bentley Systems' "Be Inspired" Award. HMM received the award for Innovation in Rail and Transit for its "Intelligent Rail Signal Design via 2D Schematics and 3D Models" project, which involved the development of a new system to introduce intelligence into conventional rail signal design. The awards honor Bentley users' efforts to improve the world's infrastructure.

The Open Standard for Public Transport (OSPT™) Alliance, an international association that provides an open standard for secure transit fare collection solutions, announced the launch of a North American Sub-Working Group. The group is for members and associate members who have an interest in North American public transport and are experts in the field. The group’s core activity will center on engaging with stakeholders operating across the North American transport ecosystem to understand current and future ticketing requirements.