Rail supplier updates from Alstom, Gannett Fleming, Ricardo Rail, Nomad Digital and Lilee (Nov. 12)

Alstom received a letter of award from India's Ministry of Railways to supply Indian Railways with 800 double-section freight electric locomotives with associated long-term maintenance. The total contract is worth more than $3.22 billion. The project includes the setup of a plant at Madhepura, Bihar, and two maintenance depots in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The delivery of the locomotives will be spread between 2018 and 2028.

Gannett Fleming Transit & Rail Systems' Canadian subsidiary was awarded a contract from Metrolinx to serve as the technical and program management consultant for the electrification of the GO Transit rail network. The firm will assist Metrolinx with an alternative financing procurement through development of bid documents and oversight of design and construction. Additionally, Gannett Fleming will deliver electrification standards, environmental assessment, project-specific output specifications, analysis of bridge clearances, simulation of railroad operations, and detailed design of enabling works.

Network Rail, the rail infrastructure manager in the United Kingdom, has confirmed that Ricardo Rail's "PanMon" pantograph monitoring system has been formally approved for use across the national network. The news follows the successful completion of a two-year trial on the West Coast Main Line, where the system proved capable of providing continuous and accurate measurements of pantograph uplift forces and defects from trains passing at speeds of up to 125 mph, Ricardo officials said in a press release. The PanMon system is now designated as a replacement for the current 30-year-old Panchex system, which is reaching the end of its serviceable life.

Nomad Digital has deployed its passenger Wi-Fi on Poland's PKP Intercity trains. The project is one of the largest on-board connectivity deployments in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a press release from Nomad Digital. In 2014, T-Mobile selected the company to design, develop, and install the service. Nomad Digital has since deployed almost 300 carriages with its on-board connectivity and passenger Wi-Fi service.

Lilee Systems has named Karen Willem as chief financial officer. She joins the company from Wi-Fi network provider iPass, where she was CFO. Before that, she was CFO of Xsigo Systems. Willem also has held executive management positions at Openwave Systems, Cassatt Corp. and Brio Software.