Wabtec wins contract for Metra car components

Wabtec wins contract for Metra car components

By Trains Staff | October 22, 2021

| Last updated on April 6, 2024


Contract will include brakes, doors, and HVAC systems

Rendering of new commuter rail cars
Wabtec will supply components for new bilevel railcars being built by Alstom for Chicago’s Metra. Alstom

PITTSBURGH — Wabtec will supply components for a Metra order for new passenger cars, the company announced today. Included are brakes; passenger doors; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; and event recorders.

The 200-car order for new bilevel cars is being built by Alstom under a contract approved by the Metra board earlier this year [see “Metra approves order for 200 new passenger cars …,” Trains News wire, Jan. 14, 2021].

“We are thrilled to begin work on this large-scale contract supplying the most advanced technology for doors, brakes, and HVAC to one of the world’s busiest commuter rail systems,” Lilian Leroux, Wabtec Transit president, said in a press release. “This new contract builds upon our position as a leading equipment manufacturer on both sides of the Atlantic and across the world, and will ensure safe, reliable, and timely passenger service to millions of riders … throughout the greater Chicagoland area.”

Components will include 800 double doorways and 400 single doorways, with door control systems including touchless buttons, and the FastBrake microprocessor-controled braking system which will be interoperable with existing cars in the Metra fleet.

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