Rail supplier news from Hitachi, Bombardier, Schneider, Omaha Track and Skanska (Nov. 1)

Hitachi Ltd. has reached an agreement to purchase Elliott International's shares of Ansaldo STS S.p.A. for $920 million. Elliott's shares amount to about 32 percent of the share capital of Ansaldo. Hitachi Rail Italy Investments S.r.l. already owns the majority of Ansaldo shares. Following the latest acquisition, Hitachi will hold 82.6 percent of Ansaldo's share capital. The transaction is part of Hitachi's attempt to take full control of Ansaldo, Reuters reported earlier this week.

Bombardier Transportation has appointed Elliot Sander as president of its Americas Region effective Nov. 19. He succeeds Benoit Brossoit, who was appointed to the role in April 2016 and will remain with the company as an adviser. A former executive director and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Sander most recently served as managing director of global transportation and U.S. infrastructure at Hatch Ltd. He also held leadership roles at AECOM, including group chief executive of global transportation. Sander is founder of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University.

Schneider National Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Lofgren will retire following the company's annual shareholder meeting in April 2019. Schneider's board has chosen Mark Rourke to succeed Lofgren as president and CEO. Rourke now serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer. He has worked at Schneider for more than three decades, according to a company press release.

Omaha Track Inc. and Happ's Inc. have announced the planned merger of their business operations. The merged business will operate under the name Happ's LLC as an Omaha Track Inc. subsidiary. The merger is aimed at providing customers with "more comprehensive railroad service and product solutions," Omaha Track officials said in a press release.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has awarded a $60.2 million contract to Skanska USA Civil Northeast to relocate tracks in the Harold Interlocking in Queens, New York, for the larger East Side Access project, which will bring LIRR service to Grand Central Terminal in 2022. The track relocation will create space for an 800-foot structure that will connect trains traveling to and from Long Island with newly built tunnels to the new concourse under Grand Central in Manhattan. Skanska will excavate 15,000 cubic yards of soil and build the new structure, LIRR officials said in a press release. The contract includes removal of a tunnel boring machine cutter head that remains in the tunnel from a prior contract, along with installation of overhead wire structures that power Amtrak trains.