Thursday, November 20, 2003

By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The first of 23 new Port Authority light-rail vehicles arrived in town yesterday after Maryland state police briefly "weigh-laid" them.

Troopers stopped four tractor-trailers carrying the LRVs at an Interstate 70 weigh station Tuesday after the trucks left the Port of Baltimore, where the vehicles had arrived by ocean freighter after a two-week journey from Spain.

"The oversized dimensions and weights differed from the hauling permits, so the truck drivers had to get correct permits," said Steve Banta, Port Authority director of rail service.

After having to spend overnight at the weigh station, the two trucks arrived yesterday at the authority's light rail maintenance facility at South Hills Village, each carrying half of an LRV.

The other two rigs continued to Elmira, N.Y., carrying a second LRV that's a prototype for others to be manufactured there.

By June, at least 23 of 28 new LRVs are to be delivered to the Port Authority, part of a $151 million contract that's the biggest in the transit agency's history.

Existing LRVs, built two decades ago, are to be rehabilitated as part of the agreement with Spain-based Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.

Almost all remaining assembly work will be done in Elmira by its subsidiary, CAF USA Inc., to comply with Buy America provisions of law. West Mifflin-based Bombardier Transport, known mostly for its people movers, is providing about $45 million of components.

Two cranes are waiting at the Port Authority's maintenance facility to unload the sections of the LRV, which, when coupled into a single car that bends in the middle, will weigh about 50 tons.

"Electrical, braking and other systems have to be hooked up and tested," Banta said. "We'll operate the new cars for the first time in the [South Hills light rail] yard."

Afterward, they'll run for several months over two miles of the old Drake line that has been upgraded for testing purposes.

"We'll carry different weights to simulate passenger loads" Banta said. "If there are changes or glitches, it's CAF's responsibility to correct them."

The new LRVs, along with the ones being rehabilitated, are part of a $500 million Stage 2 improvement program. It includes rebuilding the Overbrook line that is on schedule to open in June, upgrading the Library line and adding park-n-ride spaces throughout the South Hills.

CAF USA Inc. was supposed to start delivery of new LRVs about a year ago but sought delays to fill orders for transit vehicles for Sacramento, Calif., and Washington, D.C.

"The delays haven't affected the opening of the [Overbrook] line or our ability to provide existing service," Banta said.

By cooperating with CAF USA, he estimated the Port Authority will receive extras worth more than $6 million for repairs to the existing LRV fleet. The authority brokered deals to install new air conditioners rather than renovate the old units; replace the rubberized flooring and interior trim; and paint everything instead of touching up.

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