Rail supplier news from Wabtec, Parsons, Alstom, ProInversion and Keolis (April 2)

Wabtec Corp. has obtained contracts totaling $16.6 million from Alaska Railroad Corp. to provide positive train control (PTC) equipment and services, including computer-aided dispatch and back office systems. The systems will be installed on 525 miles of controlled track, which are used for both freight and regularly scheduled passenger service. Wabtec will provide its Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS®) equipment and install all PTC components for 54 locomotives. Wabtec's scope of work also will include installation of its Train Management and Dispatch System (TMDS®), a computer-aided dispatch system to be used for centralized traffic control and track warrant control for all territories; and integration of I-ETMS® with Wabtec's back office system. The Alaska Railroad system will be fully interoperable with PTC systems being implemented by U.S. Class Is, Wabtec officials said in a press release.

Parsons has acquired Delcan, an international multidisciplinary engineering, planning, management and technology firm that provides a range of integrated systems and infrastructure solutions to the transportation market. Delcan is a strategic addition and signals the firm’s intent to expand its geographic footprint in transportation, one of the corporation’s four key market areas, according to a Parsons press release.

Alstom has been awarded three contracts worth a total of $96.5 million by Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado to supply and maintain 12 X'Trapolis suburban trains, of which four will run on the new Rancagua Xpress service and eight on the Metro de Valparaiso service in Chile. Alstom also will provide the integration of signaling equipment and coupling to eight new trainsets for Metro de Valparaiso. The trains are scheduled to be delivered in 2015.

ProInversion, a Peruvian state-owned company acting on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication, has awarded a 35-year contract to the Nuevo Metro de Lima consortium for the construction, operation and maintenance of Line 2 and a branch of Line 3 of Lima's metro system. The design, construction and financing phases of the contract are anticipated to take five years. The project includes 35 underground stations, 22 miles of tunnels, two depots and 42 vehicles.

Keolis Commuter Services has appointed Scott Treece as head of transportation for the company's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter-rail contract. Treece will be responsible for leading and developing a management team committed to providing safe and reliable transportation services while working to improve customer satisfaction for MBTA passengers. Treece has more than 32 years of experience on freight- and passenger-rail services. Most recently, he was senior operations manager for Keolis Rail Services Virginia, which operates the Virginia Railway Express.