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• CIT Rail has ordered 3,500 tank cars and covered hoppers from “multiple manufacturers” that will be delivered throughout 2012 and 2013, according to the company. The orders will support growth in the oil and gas sector, and the expanding North American plastic resin industry, CIT Rail officials said. Since 2011, the company has invested nearly $1.5 billion in tank and covered-hopper cars.

• Bombardier Transportation was awarded a $623 million contract to manufacture 300 subway cars for MTA New York City Transit. To be built at Bombardier’s Plattsburgh, N.Y., plant, the R179 series cars will feature BOMBARDIER MITRAC propulsion equipment with new, energy-efficient converters. The onboard systems will be integrated by Bombardier’s MITRAC train-control and management system featuring internet protocol technology. Bombardier plans to deliver 10 pilot cars by third-quarter 2014, and deliver the remaining cars between mid-2015 and early 2017.

• L.B. Foster Co. has completed the sale of its railway securement business to Holland L.P. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed. L.B. Foster acquired the shipping systems division as part of its acquisition of Portec Rail Products Inc. in December 2010. “The sale of the railway securement business will place it with a company that has a better strategic fit and can unlock the full potential of the business,” said L.B. Foster President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Bauer in a prepared statement.

• AECOM was named lead design subconsultant for a joint venture that will design, build and finance a spur line and passenger station as part of Ontario’s Air Rail Link, which will connect with GO Transit’s Georgetown line, and link Toronto’s Union Station and Toronto Pearson International Airport. AECOM will provide architectural, structural, rail, utility relocation and other design services for the 1.8-mile spur, which will feature a new elevated guideway and track on high-level bridges and at-grade rail structures.

• Parsons Brinckerhoff will serve as general engineering consultant for Waterloo, Ontario, as the regional municipality develops a transit program that calls for building a 12-mile light-rail corridor and 11-mile bus rapid transit system. The 16-station light-rail system will connect the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo with a future extension to Cambridge. Parsons Brinckerhoff will assist the regional government in preparing design criteria and performance requirements for a private partner that will design, build, finance and operate the system.

• Thales announced it has delivered European Train Control System Level 1 technology for Korea’s 50-mile Gyeongchun Line northeast of Seoul, and the 55-mile Jeolla Line serving Yeosu. The equipment will support a train speed increase from 50 mph to 125 mph and higher train frequencies. The installation was completed in a tight timeframe, so the upgrades would be complete in time for Expo 2012, which was held in mid-May, according to Thales.