Kansas City — Streetcars Begin Testing

September 2015

As reported by the Kansas City Business Journal, the first of Kansas City's new streetcars has emerged from CAF USA's plant in Elmira, NY to begin test operation on the firm's test track. The contract for four cars had called for delivery of the first in June, which then slipped until late September, and now is slated for late October. Arrival dates for subsequent cars are not yet set.

Testing on the new line in Kansas City will begin as soon as the first car arrives in the city.

A three phase testing process is planned:

• Stand alone testing of the infrastructure including overhead wire
• Integrated testing of all components interaction with the system
• Simulated revenue service

Revenue operation will call for three of the four cars to be on the line at one time, so full testing will not be possible until at least three cars are on hand in Kansas City.

Herzog Transit Services has been selected to operate the line, and a contract is currently being negotiated. The firm anticipates hiring a staff of 22 and will start bringing employees on board this fall.