Rail supplier updates from Gateway Rail, Alstom, CDM Smith, Harsco and Maintenance Design (May 12)

Gateway Rail Services has acquired the Granite City Passenger Terminal, a warehouse and rail-car storage facility in Granite City, Ill. The terminal has provided short- and long-term storage, along with electric power and utilities, to rail-car owners since 2010. Additionally, a 75,000-square-foot warehouse offers storage capabilities for both railroad customers and other industries, company officials said in a press release.

Alstom shipped the first of 14 Citadis trams to Cuenca, Ecuador. The remaining trams are being manufactured in Alstom's factory in La Rochelle, France, and are expected to be completed by October. Entry into commercial service is slated for 2016. The trams operate on a catenary-less system, and their arrival will mark the first usage of such a system on the American continent, Alstom officials said.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) awarded two $5 million contracts to CDM Smith for the department's Systems Planning Office and its Office of Freight, Logistics and Passenger Operations. Extending across a three-year period, the contracts require CDM Smith to provide on-call services and funding strategy for FDOT's Strategic Intermodal System, which is the department's largest program for transportation capacity expansion in the state, CDM Smith officials said in a press release. For the Office of Freight, Logistics and Passenger Operations, CDM Smith will provide on-demand service for FDOT through in-house staff support to aid the department's regional freight coordinators.

Harsco Corp. posted first-quarter 2015 net income of $15.3 million, up from $10.2 million in the same quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were 20 cents compared with 13 cents in 2014. First-quarter revenue totaled $451.6 million, down from $512.5 million in 2014. The company's rail division logged $61.6 million in revenue for the quarter compared with $57.6 million for the same period a year ago. Higher equipment sales, along with a foreign exchange gain on cash advances of $11 million, bolstered Harsco Rail's first-quarter revenue, company officials said in a press release.

Maintenance Design Group (MDG) on May 1 marked its 20th year in business. Established in 1995 as an independent consulting practice providing planning and design for operations and maintenance facilities, MDG now serves a variety of clients, including transit agencies, municipalities and other governmental entities. The firm now has grown to more than 30 employees and has completed more than 650 projects throughout North America, company officials said.