Rail supplier news from Siemens, Bombardier Atkins, Thales and Trinity (Aug. 1)

Siemens AG named Joe Kaeser, chief financial officer since 2006, as the company's new president and chief executive officer, effective today. Kaeser succeeds CEO Peter Loscher, who resigned his post yesterday and will leave the company's managing board "by mutual consent," the company announced in a press release. Siemens' board unanimously approved the changes at a meeting yesterday. Loscher had been president and CEO since July 2007.

Bombardier Transportation obtained a contract for new rolling stock from Southern Railway, which provides services in London and southeast England. Bombardier also obtained a spares supply agreement to support the new trains when they enter service. The contracts are valued at $274 million. The rolling stock contract includes an option for 140 additional vehicles which, if exercised, would total 256 vehicles ordered for $585 million, according to a Bombardier press release.

United Kingdom-based Atkins obtained a contract from Union Pacific Railroad for construction management of a crossing upgrade project in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of the Tower 55 multi-modal improvement project. Atkins also won a contract to provide government compliance and federal reporting services for BNSF Railway Co. as part of the project.

Thales and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) signed a memorandum of understanding to promote "human capital development" for the country's rail industry. The agreement is part of a project to create a Rail Center of Excellence, for which MIGHT and Thales will provide content for signaling and communications for mainline and urban rail. 

Trinity Industries Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $84 million, or $1.06 per share, compared with $67.8 million, or 84 cents per share, in second-quarter 2012. Revenue for the quarter grew 7 percent to $1.1 billion compared with $995.5 million in the year-ago period. The Rail Group's revenue rose 29 percent to $668 million, while operating profit climbed 104 percent to a record $107.9 million. The group shipped 5,600 rail cars and received orders for 5,000 cars. The rail-car backlog remained virtually unchanged at a value of $5.1 billion on June 30 compared with the total value as of March 31.