• Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. is constructing a rebuild facility for traction motors and other electrical equipment in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The 110,000-square-foot facility is expected to be ready for operations in March. The facility will be “uniquely positioned” to enhance the reliability of the nearly 24,000 EMD locomotives in operation throughout North America, according to EMD. The city is located at the crossroads of distribution, commercialization and import-export activities between Mexico’s cities, borders and ports, the company said.

• A Siemens-led consortium recently signed a $321 million contract with the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) to modernize and automate its rail system, which connects New York and New Jersey. By implementing a new communications-based train control system, PATH can reduce intervals between trains, enabling more trains to use the same track. The system will help the agency increase capacity from 240,000 to 290,000 passengers daily. Consortium partners include Invensys Rail Corp. and D/A Builders L.L.C., a joint venture between Daidone Electric and Aldridge Electric. Meanwhile, Siemens Mobility obtained a $45 million contract to supply 13 additional low-floor light-rail vehicles to De Lijn, a mass transit operator in Flanders, Belgium. The “Hermelijn” vehicles will be delivered between October 2011 and April 2012. Siemens previously supplied 112 of the vehicles to De Lijn between 1999 and 2007.

• CIT Group Inc. has appointed board member Peter Tobin acting chief executive officer to succeed Jeffrey Peek, who resigned as chairman and CEO. Tobin has served on CIT’s board since July 2002, and previously from 1984 to 2001. During his board tenure, Tobin has held several leadership roles, including chairman of the audit and risk management committees, and lead director. In 2005, he retired from St. John’s University, where he served as special assistant in corporate relations and development to the university’s president. The board will continue to search for a permanent CEO.

• Alstom Transport obtained a $127 million contract from the Austrian Railways (OBB) to equip 449 locomotives and rail cars with ATLAS, the company’s ERTMS-based train control system. Alstom also will implement its onboard Specific Transmission Module — which enables vehicles to operate in neighboring countries with a national train-control system without traffic interruption — onboard 332 Taurus locomotives, 50 multi-system locomotives and 67 railjet control cars. The systems will be fully deployed by 2014.

• Thales has obtained an $8.7 million contract from the State Agency for Land Transport Infrastructure to refurbish metropolitan tunnels for the Barcelona conventional lines. The company will refurbish the 5,000-foot Tarrasa tunnel, 16,300-foot Sabadell tunnel and three different sections in Barcelona that are part of the suburban train lines. The project includes refurbishing, replacing or adapting existing installations; fitting emergency signaling; installing power outlets, emergency lighting, and monitoring and control systems for lighting; increasing the power supply; and renewing electrical infrastructure to enhance security equipment.