CLEVELAND – The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Board Tuesday approved the purchase of 24 Siemens Model S200 rail cars, with the option to purchase up to a total of 60 cars in the future. The new cars are modeled after a fleet currently used by Calgary Transit in Alberta.
The design concepts were presented to the RTA Board of Trustees on April 4. [see “Cleveland RTA set to have Siemens build new Red Line cars,” News Wire, April 5, 2023.]
The approval initiates the process of awarding a $164 million contract to Siemens Mobility Inc. for the purchase of the cars. The new cars features include:
- High floor light rail vehicles with two-door heights for high and low level platform accessibility that provides the ability for the trains to operate on all rail lines.
- Advance infotainment system for enhanced digital and travel experience.
- Modern operator cab area with dedicated HVAC unit, heated windshield, and enhanced visibility.
- Ice cutter pantographs installed on every car.
- 52 passenger seats, four wheelchair areas, and two bicycle rack locations per car.
The preliminary car design includes fewer seats than those they will replace — 52 instead of 84 — but will include better wheelchair access, bike racks, and other improvements. Final design features will be finalized in a 15-month period after the contract is signed.
“Siemens looks forward to working with GCRTA and the community in bringing these new rail cars to Cleveland. It’s truly a historic moment,” says Michael Cahill, Siemens Mobility Inc., North America president of rolling stock. “Next steps are getting to work in gathering all of the design input needed to get these cars built, and we look forward to a great working relationship with GCRTA.”
The car replacement project total budget currently stands at $393 million, inclusive of new rail cars, infrastructure modifications, railroad connections, engineering, testing, training, field support, spare parts, and special tooling. Support for the project comes from the Federal Transportation Administration, Ohio Department of Transportation, Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, and the Greater Cleveland RTA.
It’s nice to hear Cleveland is getting new cars that can be used on both the heavy rail line as well as on the old trolley lines. This should help both on lower maintenance cost and higher reliability. I hope they can get the funding needed for the total proposed order to maximize the simplicity of only needing to maintain one type of equipment.