Rail supplier news from Ricardo, Alstom, B12 Transportation, Transdev and Burns (Sept. 25)

Beijing Metro Construction Administration Corp. Ltd. has selected Ricardo to perform an independent safety assessment of a new metro line in eastern Beijing. Ricardo will ensure the safety of passengers, staff and surrounding communities during construction, installation, testing and commissioning of the new line in 2021, company officials said in a press release. The assessment's scope extends across rolling stock, signaling, route infrastructure and communications technologies, as well as the safety management system.

Alstom, in a consortium with Setec Ferroviaire, has been awarded a $54.9 million contract by SNCF Reseau to supply its Atlas European Railways Traffic Management System Level 2 train control system on over 310 miles of the Paris-Lyon high speed line in Europe. Alstom will carry out the design, equipment supply, installation work, tests and maintenance of its Atlas solution. Setec Ferroviaire will be in charge of verifying the design, integrated project management and testing, Alstom officials said in a press release. Meanwhile, Alstom has been commissioned by Deutsche Bahn AG to retrofit 17 internationally operating ICE3 high-speed trains with its Atlas European Train Control System (ETCS) in a contract worth nearly $33 million. The new technology will allow the trains to be equipped for the new ETCS Level 2 high-speed line between Stuttgart and Ulm, Germany, officials said. Alstom has also been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the ninth consecutive year. The company reached an overall score of 79 out of 100 in the corporate sustainability assessment. 

The B12 Transportation Group LLC appointed John Resnik as chief executive officer, Mark Radosevich as chief financial officer and William Sprague as director of human resources and special projects. Resnik has over 25 years of executive leadership experience in vehicle manufacturing. Radosevich previously served as vice president of finance and administration for Innovest Holdings and Subs. In his new role, Radosevich will direct a shared services team across three locations and manage financial operations for the holding company and subsidiary manufacturing businesses. Sprague has more than 40 years of human resources and operations experience with an emphasis on the manufacturing sector. Sprague additionally served local government as city commissioner and mayor of Lapeer, Michigan.

Transdev North America promoted Ibrahima Toure from southwest region area vice president to regional VP. Toure joined Transdev in 2004 as a bus operator in Denver, and later worked as safety and training supervisor and general manager for Transdev’s operation in Chico, California, and VP of business development.

Burns Engineering hired Michael Ehrenberger as a signals and communications project manager. Ehrenberger has over 35 years of experience in vehicle system-level design and application of safety critical products for major railroad and transit clients. He is a systems and subject matter expert for the on-board advanced civil speed enforcement system, Burns officials said in a press release.