Rail supplier news from Harsco, Cubic, L.B. Foster, The Andersons, J.L. Patterson, GEI Consultants and New York Air Brake (Nov. 7)

Harsco Rail recently shipped a heavy-duty Mark VI production/switch tamper and ballast regulator to TasRail in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The tamper features split tool work heads and a liner with sharp curve shift, and both units include crash-resistant operator cabins and couplers. The Mark VI was configured to address challenges presented by Tasmania's mountainous region, tight curves and narrow track gauge, said Chris Larsen, Harsco Rail's product manager for surfacing, in a press release.

Cubic Transportation Systems and London's Southern Railway have jointly upgraded the ITSO smart ticket acceptance capabilities at 90 stations on the railroad's network outside London. The work is being done in conjunction with Transport for London's ITSO on Prestige project, which recently upgraded the smart-card ticket acceptance at four National Rail stations within the London fares zone.

L.B. Foster Co. reported third-quarter income from continuing operations of $9.8 million, or 95 cents per diluted share, compared with $8.5 million, or 83 cents per diluted share in the previous year's third quarter. Income from continuing operations was adversely affected by the lower volume of Tubular segment sales in the quarter, company officials said in a press release. Third-quarter bookings fell 5.5 percent to $133.1 million, principally due to reductions in Tubular and rail segment orders, which were partially offset by construction segment orders.

The Andersons Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $17.2 million, or 91 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $1.2 billion, compared with net income of $16.9 million, or 90 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $1.1 billion in the same period a year ago. The Rail Group's third-quarter operating income totaled $12.4 million on revenue of $48 million compared with $19.1 million in operating income on revenue of $60 million a year ago. The group recognized $2.2 million in gains on sales of rail cars; a year ago, the company recognized $13.5 million in gains on sales of rail cars and related leases and non-recourse transactions, The Andersons officials said in a press release.

J.L. Patterson & Associates Inc. (JLP) received the 2013 Bentley "Be Inspired" award for its innovation in Point Cloud Processing and Management. The award was part of the The Year in Infrastructure 2013 Conference recently held in London. Be Inspired awards recognize outstanding infrastructure projects, and JLP was honored for its work on the eight-mile long Cascade Tunnel in the state of Washington.

GEI Consultants Inc. recently announced the continued expansion of its national freight-rail services practice in client projects and geographic reach. The company made the following three appointments to enhance its growth and expertise in the field: Gary Rozus, senior environmental consultant in Huntington Station, N.Y.; Lesli Alexander, senior environmental scientist in Denver; and Richard Truax, senior environmental consultant in Portland, Ore.

Officials representing Alcerol Mittal, BNSF Railway Co., Canadian Pacific, Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V., Florida East Coast Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway, Union Pacific Railroad and Brazil's Vale met in Dallas Oct. 21-23 to discuss train handling, fuel savings and the future of train control at the New York Air Brake Train Dynamic Division’s LEADER® users conference. LEADER is a freight train management system designed to improve train handling and conserve fuel. During a workshop on train handling, BNSF, NS and UP officials reported data that showed LEADER helped increase fuel savings and minimize in-train forces.