Skip to main content

Siemens to build new streetcars for expanding Charlotte Area Transit System

The Charlotte City Council in the US has chosen Siemens to build six new S70 streetcars for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), the public transit system operated across Mecklenburg County and four surrounding counties. The vehicles will be designed with advanced hybrid technology that features a battery storage system, which allows for operation in portions of Uptown without the need for power from an overhead wire. The new streetcars will add to the 42 Siemens-built light rail vehicles currently
November 29, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Charlotte City Council in the US has chosen 189 Siemens to build six new S70 streetcars for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), the public transit system operated across Mecklenburg County and four surrounding counties.

The vehicles will be designed with advanced hybrid technology that features a battery storage system, which allows for operation in portions of Uptown without the need for power from an overhead wire. The new streetcars will add to the 42 Siemens-built light rail vehicles currently in operation on the Blue Line across the city.

The new streetcars will run on the second phase of the CityLYNX Gold Line, replacing the legacy green and yellow trolleys currently in operation. The new phase will add 2.5 miles to the Gold Line, expanding it to 4 miles in length ending at Sunnyside Avenue to the east and Johnson C. Smith University to the west.

The new streetcars will include features such as traffic light pre-emption, pedestrian-friendly front mask, an automatic passenger counter with enhanced 3D infrared sensor technology, large passenger windows for increased visibility and improved passenger safety and an unobstructed floor concept that allows more space for bicycle storage and wheelchairs.

The Gold Line expansion construction is scheduled to begin January 2017 and is estimated to open in fall 2020.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Optimus Ride launches AV service at Brooklyn Navy Yard
    August 27, 2019
    Optimus Ride is operating an autonomous vehicle (AV) service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York and expects to transport more than 16,000 passengers per month. The 300-acre industrial park has more than 400 manufacturing businesses and 10,000 employees on site. Dr. Ryan Chin, Optimus co-founder, says the system will “provide access to and experience with autonomy for thousands of people, helping to increase acceptance and confidence of this new technology”. Optimus is operating six AVs between the NY
  • Opticom gives priority to Memphis Transit’s buses
    October 29, 2014
    A new traffic signal priority system is helping bus passengers in Memphis reach their destinations on time.
  • Wireless bridges widen options for ITS upgrades
    December 9, 2014
    Antaira Technologies’ marketing engineer Brian Roth explains why the increasing capacity of wireless bridges is reducing the cost of expanding and upgrading ITS networks. With more than half of the world’s population now living in cities, the need for efficient transportation of both people and goods has never been greater and that pressure is unlikely to ease any time soon. Indeed in many regions of the world the rate of urbanisation is still increasing as the demand for rural workers continues to decline.
  • £36bn from scrapped HS2 to be spent on 'transport projects' in England
    October 4, 2023
    Money from scaled-back high-speed rail project will be reallocated, insists Rishi Sunak