Portland — Streetcar Contract Signed

Rail Transit Online, August 2009

A $20-million contract for the purchase of six streetcars has been signed between the City of Portland and Oregon Iron Works subsidiary United Streetcar.

The deal has been pending for several months; United delivered a prototype to Portland Streetcar last June which is now undergoing testing. The double-articulated model 10 T3 is essentially the Czech-made Skoda 10 T but with 70-percent domestic content, meeting "Buy America" requirements.

"This contract is an extremely important award for us as it commences our first streetcar production line, and that means the creation of more green jobs in our community and across the U.S.," said Chandra Brown, President of United Streetcar. "We are grateful to the City of Portland and proud to be a part of their team on this exciting project."

The cars will be needed for a 3.3-mi. (5.3 km) extension of the existing streetcar system from 10th Street and Lovejoy in the Pearl District across the Willamette River into Northeast Portland, then south to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Meanwhile, United is awaiting confirmation of an order for seven streetcars from the city of Tucson, Arizona.

www.unitedstreetcar.com