Sumitomo Corporation of America and Nippon Sharyo, Ltd Awarded Contract for 50 Bi-level Passenger Cars for Virginia Railway Express

NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2006 -- Virginia Railway Express exercised its option order for an additional 50 bi-level passenger rail cars from Sumitomo Corporation of America and its car builder partner Nippon Sharyo, Ltd. The contract was executed on July 27th, 2006, and is in addition to the current VRE order for 11 bi-level cars that was issued last May.

The cars for the contract will be similar to the 300 Gallery type bi-level passenger cars that were delivered in 2005 to Metra in Chicago. Due to the expanding VRE system and increased ridership, these bi-level cars will have a much larger capacity for seating, accommodating up to 140 passengers per car. These cars will replace the older and less spacious single-level passenger cars that are currently in the VRE fleet.

"We are very excited about this option order," says Dennis Larson, Director, Rail Equipment & Services at VRE. "With this option order we will facilitate replacement of existing cars which will bring more customer satisfaction to our riders."

The contract price will be $109 million including options. Delivery is scheduled from the end of 2006 through the latter part of 2008. Car body shells will be manufactured in Nippon Sharyo's Toyokawa plant in Japan and the final assembly will be done at Super Steel's plant in Milwaukee using various components procured in the US.

The new passenger cars will enhance the ridership of the commuter rail lines in the state of Virginia and will contribute greatly to reducing the heavy traffic in the surrounding urban and suburban areas.

The Sumitomo and Nippon Sharyo team have already successfully delivered over 900 passenger cars in the US market since 1980, including the 300 Gallery Type bi-level passenger cars and 26 Highliner Electric Multiple Units delivered in Chicago. The team is eager to expand their service and contribution to railway authorities throughout North America.

Sumitomo has 50 years of contract management experience in bringing transportation systems to life. As a prime contractor, the company has developed, managed and delivered transit systems for Chicago's Metra, the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation District, the Maryland Mass Transit Administration, California's CALTRANS Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, the Los Angeles County MTA, and the New York City Transit Authority, and is working on delivering an Automated People Mover (APM) system for Miami International Airport's new North Terminal, The Washington Dulles International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Sumitomo's global network has contributed to build various types of transit systems around the world, including a new light rail system in Manila, Philippines (EDSA Street), people mover systems at Hong Kong's new airport at Chek Lap Kok, and other systems in Japan.

Nippon Sharyo, founded in 1896, has manufactured railroad vehicles for more than 100 years and has annual sales of over $800 million. A world leader in the manufacturing of the Gallery car, the company also owns the largest market share of Japanese "Shinkansen" bullet train sets.

Established in 1952, and headquartered in New York City, SCOA operates offices in 10 American cities. SCOA is the largest wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide.