PAT news

[John Swindler]

Update on Pittsburgh, courtesy HHG for lead.

JS



Port Authority to get 28 new light-rail cars
Saturday, August 05, 2000
By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

After two years of studying proposals, the Port Authority plans to award a 
$151.3 million contract to purchase 28 new light-rail vehicles and overhaul 
the existing 55 models built in the early 1980s.

The authority's engineering-construction committee yesterday recommended the 
agreement with Spain-based Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles and 
CAF USA Inc., its United States affiliate.

Adtranz, a West Mifflin-based manufacturer of people movers and mass transit 
systems owned by DaimlerChrysler, will build the propulsion and control 
systems, a subcontract worth an estimated $45 million. Adtranz is to produce 
the systems locally, although no decision has been made yet as to whether it 
may add facilities in the Mon Valley in order to do so.

To comply with federal law requiring that at least 50 percent of the value 
of government-subsidized contracts adhere to "Buy America" provisions, CAF 
will assemble the vehicles in the United States -- tentatively at either CAF 
facilities in Elmira, N.Y., or Hunt Valley, Md.

The CAF-Adtranz contract will be the single largest contract awarded in the 
authority's 36-year history.

An option in the contract gives the Port Authority 20 months to decide 
whether to buy up to 15 additional light-rail vehicles for $2.3 million 
apiece, trolleys that would be needed if the authority expands the system to 
the North Shore and David L. Lawrence Convention Center as planned.

The recommendation by the authority's engineer-construction committee means 
its full board is likely to formalize the contract at its regular meeting 
next week.

The decision means more than 25,000 daily T riders should see delivery of 
the first all-new LRV within two years, and almost totally rebuilt existing 
cars even earlier. The contract calls for all production work to be finished 
in four years.

The present LRVs were purchased from a Germany-based consortium, 
Siemens-Duewag, but they were assembled in Blawnox.

Siemens was the only other transit vehicle manufacturer to submit a proposal 
for the authority's latest purchase of LRVs. CAF-Adtranz won out after 
dozens of meetings and evaluations that included qualifications, technical 
reviews, delivery schedules and price negotiations.

Authority Chief Executive Officer Paul Skoutelas said two other big transit 
vehicle manufacturers, one in Japan and another in Italy, were reluctant to 
participate in the authority's contract because they're already operating at 
capacity with new LRV orders and didn't want to get involved with the 
overhaul aspect of old LRVs.

"It was an intense process, but we think we're getting the best rail car and 
overhaul that are possible," said Henry Nutbrown, the authority's director 
of engineer-construction. "By choosing the same companies, we'll essentially 
end up with one fleet" with the same kind of mechanical and electronic 
components.

Eighty percent of the $151.3 million contract will be paid by the Federal 
Transit Administration. The balance will come from the state (16 2/3 
percent) and county (3 1/3 percent).

Nutbrown said prices compare favorably with other recent LRV purchases 
nationally. Cost of each new car will be about $2.3 million, while cost of 
overhauling the 55 existing LRVs is about $1.4 million each. The contract 
will include some spare parts and technical support.

The 55 LRVs in service since the Downtown subway opened in 1984 have 
suffered numerous mechanical problems, especially with gearboxes and 
single-axle wheel drives, which only recently have been corrected to the 
point that the LRVS have been operating with reliability.

The first two LRVs are to be taken out of service to begin the overhaul 
program about one month from now. No more than five LRVs are to be taken out 
of service at a time, however.

Although DaimlerChrysler is in talks about selling Adtranz to Canada's 
Bombardier Inc., which specializes in transit vehicles and aerospace, 
Skoutelas said a deal wouldn't affect the authority's contract. "If it 
happens, I see it creating a stronger [Adtranz] organization locally," he 
said.

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