Chippenham, United Kingdom – Westinghouse Rail Systems, part of Invensys plc, has announced three key appointments to its board and senior management team.

Alistair McPhee has been appointed Managing Director, following the retirement of John Cotton earlier 2006. Previously General Manager of the company’s Mainline division, Alistair brings considerable engineering and major project experience to the role, gained both in the rail industry and the defence sector.

Commenting on his appointment, Alistair said: “I am delighted to be leading the company at such an exciting phase in its development. We have one of the most experienced and committed teams in the industry, which is totally focussed on delivering high quality projects both to our mainline and metro customers”.

Following Alistair’s appointment, Mark Wild, currently one of the company’s Project Delivery Directors, has been promoted to the position of General Manager, Mainline. In this role, Mark will take board-level responsibility for the company’s strategic development and project delivery in this key business area.

Mark will be supported by an established team, strengthened by the appointment of Arthur Close who joins the division as Head of Mainline Sales and Marketing. Arthur brings 20 years successful international business development experience in the energy/ oil and gas sector, and will assume business development, tendering and marketing responsibilities.

Alistair concluded: “These two appointments further strengthen our capability and expertise in the Mainline business unit and follow the recent award of our framework agreement with Network Rail, which includes the supply of Type A projects in three key regions. With the continuing success of our metro operations – both in our home and export markets – the business is in excellent shape as we move forward.”