MBTA is spending almost $200 million for 75 new rail cars from a South Korean company that has yet to sell its cars in the U.S., so rail experts have expressed doubts about the wisdom of this purchase for the troubled Boston T.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority "has placed a $190 million bet (for 75 new double-decker cars) on a company, Hyundai Rotem that has yet to open an assembly plant on American soil, a requirement under federal law."
"Even if someone's produced very good trains elsewhere in the world, doing it in the United States is a whole new drill," said Fred Salvucci, former Massachusetts transportation secretary and now a lecturer at MIT.
"To win the MBTA contract, Rotem bid $30 million less than Kawasaki (the Japanese company that has built rail cars for the MBTA and many of the nation's largest transit agencies for two decades), its only competitor.
The MBTA order will be third in line at Rotem's Philadelphia plant" after Philadelphia's SEPTA and Southern California's Metrolink.
From Ventura County Star:"Metrolink's new cars are reported to be safest yet":
"The train cab and trailer cars - 117 of them - cost more than $230 million and were ordered more than two years ago.
Made by Rotem USA Corp., a division of Hyundai Motors Group in South Korea, the rail cars include the latest "crash energy management" technology developed over a decade of study by the U.S. Department of Transportation."
Thanks to Bay Area Transportation News
FULL STORY: T betting on untried firm to build fleet
Denver's Commuter Rail Cars: Same as SEPTA's But Without the Defects
Denver's transit agency is running very similar Hyundai Rotem EMUs on their new A Line to the airport. The car shells are imported from South Korea and assembled in the same Philadelphia plant as SEPTA's problem-plagued Silverliner V cars.
Safety of Southern California's New Metrolink Cab Cars Questioned
After a February Metrolink commuter train crash in Oxnard, Calif., train officials hailed the new Korean rail cars as having performed well. Now they have expressed second thoughts, and are replacing the front cab cars with BNSF locomotives.
Metrolink Crash Would Have Been Much Worse If Not for New Rail Cars
While all four passenger cars derailed in Tuesday morning's crash with a pickup truck, three on their sides, experts indicate that the new cars likely prevented far greater damage. Also covered is the locomotive push-pull issue and grade separations.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”
Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.
Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.
Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”
Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)