Skip to main content

Siemens to refurbish light rail vehicles for Sacramento

By awarding Siemens Rail Systems a contract to modify and refurbish 21 light rail vehicles (LRV), Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) says it will add to its fleet at a fraction of the cost of new vehicles. RT acquired the vehicles, originally built by Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) - from Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. The vehicles originally went into operation in 1987 and have been in storage since RT acquired them in 2003. They are now needed for RT's expanding s
August 14, 2012 Read time: 1 min
By awarding 189 Siemens Rail Systems a contract to modify and refurbish 21 light rail vehicles (LRV), 6364 Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) says it will add to its fleet at a fraction of the cost of new vehicles. RT acquired the vehicles, originally built by Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) - from 1791 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. The vehicles originally went into operation in 1987 and have been in storage since RT acquired them in 2003. They are now needed for RT's expanding system but need to be updated to meet operating requirements.

The refurbishment will add approximately 15 years of additional useful life to the vehicles, while new vehicles are typically built to last 30 years. Siemens will also modernise the vehicle's communications, event recorders and auxiliary power systems.

Related Content

  • Oregon tests new mileage-base charging scheme
    August 5, 2013
    Jack Opiola from D’Artagnan Consulting LLP explains Oregon’s latest moves which mandated a trial of mileage-based road use charging. In 1919, Oregon made the 20th century’s most significant contribution to transportation funding policy, becoming the first state in America to implement a gas tax to pay for roads. This summer Oregon’s Legislature passed, and Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law, Senate Bill 810 which requires a distance-based road usage charge for 5,000 volunteer vehicles by 1 July 2015. T
  • How public transit improves quality of life
    June 29, 2022
    There are various reasons why Mobility as a Service is catching on more in Europe than the US – but there are still other ways in which access to mobility can be improved across the states, finds Gordon Feller
  • Improve and increase mass transit systems to minimise congestion
    January 24, 2012
    Rather looking to solve congestion by spreading the load, perhaps we need to look at concentrating it. Michael L. Sena writes. We humans were made to walk and run at embarrassingly slow speeds by comparison with other, more fleet-footed organisms. The sea is not our natural habitat and we were definitely not designed to fly unaided. Nevertheless, humankind has evolved a method of living during the past century that is dependent on transporting its members over very long distances during relatively short per
  • Conscience versus convenience
    June 8, 2015
    David Crawford looks at new ways forward for public transport. By 2025, nearly 60% of the world’s population will be living in towns and cities, increasing their extent and density, and the journeys that people make within and between them. In response, the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) wants to see public transport’s global modal share doubling (PTx2) by the same date. “Success in 2025,” a spokesperson told ITS International, “will save 170 million tonnes of oil equivalent and 550