Some news just in from
America. In Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has awarded a contract
for CSR Sifang America JV to build
new trains for their system.
From CTA Press release
CTA Chooses
Manufacturer for Newest-Generation Rail Cars
CSR
Sifang America proposal will create 170
jobs; Company will build new, $40
million assembly facility in Chicago.
The
Chicago Transit Board today awarded a contract for the newest generation of CTA
rail cars—the 7000-series—continuing the unprecedented modernization of the CTA
under Mayor Rahm Emanuel while fostering economic development and job creation
in Chicago.
The
new 7000-series rail cars—the largest rail car order in CTA history—will be
built by CSR Sifang America JV,
which as part of its winning bid has pledged to build a brand-new rail car
assembly facility in Chicago – the first of its kind in 35 years. The facility
is expected to generate 170 jobs, and represents an investment of $40 million.
“With
this agreement, CTA riders will get state-of-the-art
rail cars and Chicago returns to our roots as the place where the next
generation of rail cars are built, providing good jobs for our residents. That
is a classic win-win for Chicago,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “This historic
agreement was the result of strong collaboration between the City, our federal
partners, the Chicago Federation of Labor, and Jobs to Move America, and I
cannot thank them enough for their partnership in making it possible. Working
together we will continue to bring more 21st century manufacturing jobs to Chicago
while also building a modern CTA to help power our 21st century economy.”
“Providing
modern trains and buses is a critical part of having a world-class transit
system,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “This rail car purchase—the
largest in CTA history—will give CTA one of the newest fleets in the United
States and provide our customers with state-of-the-art trains providing
comfortable, reliable rides.”
In
July 2014, Mayor Emanuel and the Chicago Federation of Labor announced a
partnership to encourage the creation of U.S. manufacturing jobs, by working
with CTA to include a “U.S. Employment” provision in the bids for the new
7000-series cars. The bid solicitation asked bidders to provide the number and
type of new jobs they planned to create related to the production of the new
rail cars, as well as an outline of their job recruitment and workforce
training plans.
CSR
submitted the lowest bid of $1.309
billion for 846 railcars. CTA will purchase a base order of 400 cars first, with options to
purchase the remainder in coming years.
Prototype models are
expected to be complete in 2019; following testing, the cars will go into service in 2020.
The cars will be assembled in a new facility CSR plans to build in Chicago.
CSR
is one of the world’s largest rail-car
manufacturers, and since 1962 has built more than 30,000 rail cars for more than 20 countries in Asia, South America and the
Middle East. In the United States,
CSR is building rail cars for Boston’s
transit system.
“It
has been over 30 years since the last rail car rolled off the Pullman assembly
line on Chicago’s Southside,” said Chicago Federation of Labor President Jorge
Ramirez. “Today’s announcement is the culmination of nearly two years of
collaboration with Mayor Emanuel to bring rail car manufacturing back to
Chicago where it belongs. We commend the CTA for including the U.S. Employment
Plan in this bid process, leading the way to high road manufacturing jobs, and
thank Mayor Emanuel for his ongoing commitment to build a world class transit
system."
“Chicago
is a shining model for the rest of the nation, providing a blueprint for
leveraging the billions of public transit dollars spent each year to bring back
manufacturing, encourage investments in workforce training, and jobs for U.S.
workers. We look forward to partnering with CSR to deliver a high road program
that prioritizes the creation of career paths for Chicago’s low income and
communities of color,” said Jobs to Move America National Policy Director Linda
Nguyen Perez.
The
new rails cars will feature of mix of
forward-facing and aisle-facing seats, a seating configuration designed to
ensure customer comfort while maximizing passenger flow and capacity. The
design was based on studies CTA conducted to solicit feedback from CTA riders
on preferences related to seating and design— the first time the CTA has sought rider input on seating
layout.
The
cars’ design will resemble the 5000-series, the CTA’s newest rail cars, with stainless steel bodies, LED lighting and signage, and AC power
propulsion for a smoother, quieter ride. The cars will replace the oldest cars on the CTA system, some of which
are more than 30 years old.
Once
delivery of the new rail cars is complete, the CTA will have its youngest rail
fleet in decades—reducing the average age of CTA rail cars from 26 years in 2011 to 13 years when the 7000-series
are delivered. The new rail cars are
projected to save the CTA about $7M
annually in reduced maintenance costs and reduced use of power.
Taking a quick look at
their interior, they have no walk-through gangways. Compare them to Britain
where the London Underground has the S
stock for the District, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City
Lines, they have walk through gangways.
Looking at Chicago’s “L” (short for "elevated") train system, it reminds me of
the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) system in East
London, England. The only difference is that the DLR has driverless trains and
are automatically operated by computers.
This was just a quick
news update, so don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Google
Plus which is @CLondoner92
Here
are a couple of articles related to the investment of new trains in Britain: