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• A Thales and Balfour Beatty Rail consortium has obtained a $526.8 million contract from Danish infrastructure owner Banedanmark to install a European signaling system on 746 miles of rail lines across Jutland, Denmark. The contract represents about 60 percent of Denmark’s railway network, according to a press release issued by the two companies. In addition, Thales obtained a $26 million signaling contract from the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) to install a ETCS Level 2 system, including automatic train protection and GSM-R communications, for the double-track Eskisehir-Sincan section of the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed line. This new equipment will increase the capacity of Turkey's first high-speed line.

• Parker Hannifin Corp. has acquired the railroad filtration business of the Camfil Farr Group. Based in Laval, Canada, Camfil Farr Group’s railroad filtration unit has 90 employees and operations and sales in Canada, Mexico and India, and a sales presence in the United States and Australia. The acquired business — which provides air and liquid filtration products for rail, transit, mining and marine engine applications — will become part of Parker’s Filtration Group. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

• Axion International has obtained a purchase order for its recycled plastic crossties from a second, undisclosed U.S. Class I. Last year, the company received a multi-year contract from a different Class I. As part of the most recent order, Axion will pre-plate its ECOTRAX™ ties so they’re ready for immediate installation, according to a press release. “These ties are specifically going into an area where ties quickly degrade due to moisture and damaging infestation,” said Axion President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Silverman, adding that ECOTRAX ties are designed to resist water and insect damage.

• SKF has obtained two contracts totaling around $7.4 million from Siemens Rail Systems for railway projects in Europe, according to a press release. SKF will provide axle boxes and wheel-set bearing units for Siemens’ rolling stock projects in the United Kingdom and Poland. “The European passenger transportation market has been strong and continues to grow,” said Henrik Lange, president of SKF Industrial Market, Strategic Industries.

• CH2M HILL has announced several appointments in its North American transit and rail business. Senior Vice President Gary Schulman now will serve as transit and rail market segment leader. In addition, Margarita Gagliardi, an SVP with Halcrow Group Ltd., which CH2M Hill acquired in 2011, has been named chief technologist; VP Tom Ragland will assume responsibility for transit and rail’s North American business development; and Jay McRae will serve as operations leader for the transit and rail market. Also, the firm’s North America Transit and Rail Group has been reorganized into five geographic regions, with Tom Donahue leading the Midwest and Southeast regions, Janet Gallegos leading California, Dan Heilig leading the West, David Strong leading the Northeast and Doug Willoughby leading Canada.

• CIT Group Inc. reported net income of $34 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter compared with net income of $83 million, or 41 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. For the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, CIT reported net income of $28 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $526 million, or $2.62 per diluted share, for 2010.