Rail supplier update from Siemens, Bombardier, Alstom, Skelly and Loy, and Chesterfield (March 31)

Siemens will provide 82 Desiro HC electric multiple units for Germany's new Rhine-Ruhr Express. Valued at $1.82 billion, the order will be the largest rail transport order Siemens has had in Germany, officials said in a press release. The company also will provide maintenance services for the railroad over the next 32 years.

Bombardier has signed a 10-year, $213 million maintenance contract with National Express Group for the new Essex Thameside franchise in the United Kingdom. Contract terms call for Bombardier to provide maintenance and spare parts on 74 four-car Class 357 ELECTROSTAR trains, with the option to extend the contract another five years.

Alstom has been awarded a $9.7 billion contract with the Delhi Metro Rail Corp. to provide receiving and auxiliary main substations for the Kochi Metro. Contract terms cover high-voltage cabling from the state grid for the new 15.5-mile metro line, with Alstom in charge of the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 110kV cabling incoming from the grid.

Sandra Loy Bell, chief executive officer of engineering firm Skelly and Loy, recently earned the Distinguished Award of Merit from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania. The award is given based on an individual's contributions to the advancement of the consulting engineering profession. Bell has served various roles at the firm, including public relations committee chair, treasurer, vice president and president.

New York investment bank Chesterfield Faring Ltd. announced it will devise a request for proposal to build an elevated light-rail system in Ghana. The new line would connect a newly developed trade zone and transit oriented development (TOD) to the Accra Airport in southern Ghana, with plans for a bullet train connecting the Accra Airport to the city of Kumasi. The proposal will cover a 74.6-square mile TOD in Accra, as well as a 40.4-square mile TOD in Kumasi. The proposal's first phase is valued at $12 billion, according to a company press release.