Portland — New Streetcars Arrive

Rail Transit Online, February 2007

The first of three new Trio low-floor cars for the downtown Portland Streetcar arrived on Jan. 16.  They were manufactured by DPO Inekon, a joint venture of the Czech commercial house Inekon and the transit authority in the Czech city of Ostrava, which has a large, modern maintenance facility capable of building new streetcars.  They are very similar to the seven model 10T Astra vehicles from Skoda Inekon that are currently operating in Portland.  Inekon and Skoda were originally partners in production of the Astra but had an acrimonious falling out and now compete, with Skoda continuing to make the Astra and Inekon countering with the Trio.  A maximum of eight cars will be in operation once the line is expanded by 0.6 mi. (1 km) to Southwest Lowell in August.  Construction on the $14.5-million extension started last August as part of the new South Waterfront development and expansion of the Oregon Health and Science University. 

Streetcar Contract

Rail Transit Online, February 2007

Defense contractor Oregon Iron Works (OIW) has been awarded a $4-million contract by the city of Portland to manufacture a prototype low-floor modern streetcar based on the Czech-made Astra model.  OIW has formed a subsidiary, United Streetcar LLC, to produce a four-axle, double-ended car that will operate in Portland.  Money for the project came from a special congressional authorization in SAFETEA-LU, the current six-year federal transit spending program, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, chairman of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee.  “I'm proud that Oregon will get to show that we can produce a quality product as good or better than they make in Europe,” said DeFazio.  “We believe there are 80 (U.S.) cities interested in streetcar systems.”  According to a statement posted on OIW’s Web site, United Streetcar “…will focus on building streetcars and supplying them to cities across North America intending to build new streetcar lines or expand their fleet of streetcars on existing tracks.”

In August 2005, OIW announced it had already established a partnership with Skoda, and in February 2006 signed an exclusive technology transfer agreement.  Last September, the city issued a Request for Proposals seeking offers from qualified firms or teams that could build a prototype streetcar able to operate on the downtown system.  In November, the city announced that OIW had won the contract and was fully compliant with the Buy America Act.