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• Siemens has obtained a multimillion-dollar order from Ansaldo Honolulu JV to electrify the track for Honolulu’s new transit-rail system. Siemens will supply 14 traction power DC rectifier substations and two tie breaker gap substations. The 20-mile system will operate from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center and feature 20 stations, including ones in Pearl Harbor and at the Honolulu Airport. It is is slated for completion in 2019.

• CIT Rail has placed orders for an additional 3,000 tank cars from multiple manufacturers, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2014, according to a press release. Including the cars, CIT Rail has placed orders for $1.8 billion worth of new rail cars since the beginning of 2011.

• The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has granted Cubic Transportation Systems Inc. an extension to its system support services contract for components of the Universal Fare System, which is the foundation of the regional contactless smart-card branded as “TAP.” The contract’s value increased to about $9 million, according to a company press release.

• Mermec has obtained a contract to provide ERTMS/ETCS Level 1 technology for a 34-mile line between Thenia and Tizi Ouzou, Algeria. Mermec will outfit the new line with its European ERTMS/ETCS Level 1 wayside subsystem (branded as the iCAB 1 Series), according to a company press release. The company is scheduled to start supplying the first set of LEUs by year’s end.

• Dr. Allan Zarembski has retired from his position as vice president of consulting services and strategic projects at ZETA-TECH, a business unit of Harsco Rail, effective today. Tomorrow, he will begin a new position as research professor and director of the Railroad and Engineering and Safety Program in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Delaware in Newark.

• Rick Simonetta has joined the Burns Group, where he will serve rail and transit agency clients. Simonetta has more than 42 years of experience in the rail and transit industry. He spent 28 years as the chief executive officer or general manager of several transit agencies, including the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Phoenix ‘s Valley Metro, Central Ohio Transit Authority, Ann Arbor Transportation Authority and Capitol Area Transit in Harrisburg, Pa. In addition, he has served as chairman of the American Public Transportation Association, vice president for North America of the International Association of Public Transport, and president of state transit associations in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Arizona.

• Duos Technologies Inc. recently marked its 10th year of providing engineered products for rail and transit security applications. The company evolved into the niche by creating customized and unified programmable logic control systems, and then customized and integrated video surveillance systems featuring video analytics, Duos officials said in a press release. Video analytics-based security systems developed, deployed and maintained by Duos “protect critical rail infrastructure, including bridges, tunnels, fuel tank farms, and long stretches of tracks at many Class I rail sites,” they said. Systems have been deployed in several states, the District of Columbia and Mexico.