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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Siemens land $73 million Portland light rail contract

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Siemens has received a $73 million order from Portland’s mass transit provider for 18 new light rail cars.

The latest batch, which will be manufactured entirely at Siemens’ rolling stock production plant in Sacramento, California, will take the total number of light rail cars manufactured for TriMet by Siemens to 119.

The new order has been awarded as part of a development project by TriMet to expand the city’s transport network to cope with a predicted  population boom.

Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO Siemens Rail Systems Division, said: “We’ve been supplying light rail cars to TriMet since 1995. It all began with 79 SD 660 cars and since 2009 it has been our S70, which, besides Portland, is providing reliable service in North America in San Diego, Houston, Charlotte and Salt Lake City.”

Experts are forecasting that there will be an additional one million people living along the new route by 2030.

To tackle the looming traffic congestion, Portland authorities are investing in a new 7.3-mile stretch of track and 10 new stations. The new route will connect Portland State University in downtown Portland with the southern neighborhoods and the suburb of Milwaukie.

The project aims to reduce traffic by more than 9,100 vehicles per day.

The new S70 light rail cars will be shipped out in August 2014 and are scheduled to begin service in the fall of 2015.

The S70 has a maximum operating speed of 66 mph and includes low-floor design, so passengers can enter the light rail cars at street level.

1 COMMENT

  1. It would avoid confusion in your article had you indicated which Portland you were reporting on.  I presume, however, that you mean Portland, Oregon and not Portland, Maine.

    Robert A. Ramsay

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