Rail supplier news from Mobilitie, Webuild, HDR, Alstom, Sener and Abloy (Sept. 22)

The Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) partnered with Mobilitie to create a new digital network that provides BART riders with 5G wireless connectivity. Mobilitie will install an underground wireless system in rail tunnels in San Francisco, add wayside wireless communications and small cells along the rail line, enable Wi-Fi connectivity across stations and trains, and deploy a fiber plant installed along the entire rail right-of-way. BART is expected to bring connectivity to its entire fleet by 2023, Mobilitie officials said in a press release.

The Webuild Group and its U.S. subsidiary and joint-venture partner Lane Construction are a step closer to starting work on a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston now that the Federal Railroad Administration issued a Rule of Particular Applicability and a Record of Decision to Texas Central Railroad LLC. The two decisions are a crucial milestone for the start of work on the $20 billion project.

Metrolink selected HDR to provide program management services for Phase 1 of the Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion program. The $10 billion capital improvement program calls for upgrades to Metrolink ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. HDR developed a project management information services dashboard to help Metrolink manage program risk, make informed decisions and provide real-time program status reporting, HDR officials said in a press release.  Meanwhile, HDR hired Rashed Islam as transportation director of the central region, which includes Canada and Mexico and spans the U.S. from Indiana to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. As regional director, Islam will help coordinate HDR’s transportation work, including those in freight rail. 

Alstom successfully delivered Line 3 of the Guadalajara urban transportation network in Mexico for the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes. The 13-mile, 18-station line serves Zapopan, Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque, and is expected to carry 230,000 passengers daily. Sistema del Tren Electrico Urbano will operate the line. Meanwhile in Vienna, Alstom’s Coradia iLint hydrogen train will run for the first time in regular passenger service for the Austrian Federal Railways.

Sener in Mexico has signed a contract with FIDEPROES, the special projects trust of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to carry out technical studies for the Monterrey commuter train. The new railway system is expected to use more than 38 miles of existing track, include 27 stations and combine passenger and cargo transport. The commuter train will serve Apostaca, San Nicolas de los Garza, Monterrey, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Santa Catarina and Garcia. The demand is estimated at 250,000 passengers per day, Sener officials said in a press release.

Abloy USA Critical Infrastructure promoted Shayne Spears to serve in a dual role as vertical market manager for oil and gas, and, now, national accounts manager. In this expanded role, Spears will work with Ray Marquis, Abloy’s vertical market manager for distribution and original equipment manufacturers, to develop national accounts.