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Metrolinx/GO Transit has exercised options under contracts with Bombardier Transportation for 10 years of fleet operations and maintenance services for the Toronto area's commuter-rail system. The total value of the contracts, which are extended to 2023, is $937 million.

Siemens has obtained a $105.6 million order from MTR Corp. to upgrade control and signaling along a 29-mile line from the Chinese border to the central business district of Hong Kong. The existing line will be extended by about four miles while the entire line will be equipped with the "most up-to-date control technology and the Trainguard MT automatic train-control system," according to a Siemens press release.

Ansaldo STS, the lead bidder in a consortium of companies that includes Coopsette Soc. Coop as principal, has been awarded the tender for final design and execution of work related to the computer-based interlocking system (ACC) of Brescia Central Station in Italy. Ansaldo STS' share of the contract is worth $44.9 million. The work will integrate Brescia's railway junction with the high-speed/high-capacity interconnection of the Treviglio-Brescia stretch of the future Milan-Verona high-speed line, according to an Ansaldo press release.

Alstom has obtained two contracts with Hessische Landesbahn (HLB) in Germany, one to supply seven Coradia Lint regional trains and the other to modernize 25 Coradia Lint trains already in service. Combined, the contracts are worth $52.8 million. The new and modernized trains are scheduled to enter service in 2015, according to an Alstom press release.

The Association of American Railroad's Wheels, Axles, Bearings and Lubrication Committee has issued approval to Stage 8 Locking Fasteners for its latest design: a Cap Screw Locking System for railroad roller bearing end caps, according to a Stage 8 press release. The design represents the "first significant improvement in roller bearing end cap locking systems in over 50 years," the release states. The design was developed to enable a major increase in roller bearing retention, a decrease in maintenance costs, and an improvement in safety and reliability, Stage 8 officials said.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has named John Boulé vice president. A 26-year military veteran, he is former commander of the New York District Army Corps of Engineers, having served from 2009 to 2012. Based in the firm's New York City office, he will serve as senior manager for project delivery and be initially responsible as lead manager of the Northeast region's Super Storm Sandy recovery and mitigation efforts.