The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority of greater Seattle, also known as Sound Transit, announced yesterday its decision to award an order to Bombardier Transportation for the manufacture and supply of 38 bi-level commuter rail cars. The contract is valued at approximately $108 million.
 
The contract comprises 18 cab cars and 20 coach cars which will be manufactured by Bombardier at its Thunder Bay (Ontario) and Barre (Vermont) facilities. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in October 1999.
 
The contract includes options for several transit agencies including 20 additional cars for the Sound Transit, up to 35 cars for the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) in Los Angeles, and 4 cars for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority. All options are to be exercised within 18 months of the contract award. The overall value of the contract with the options would reach $265 million.
 
The commuter rail cars for the Sound Transit are based on the Bombardier bi-level design, the largest in North America, and similar to those now in revenue service in British Columbia, Toronto, Northern California, San Diego, Greater Los Angeles, and South Florida. These cars will operate in revenue service in the Central Puget Sound area.
 
" We are pleased to be working with the Sound Transit in the revitalization of rail transit in the greater Seattle area. This contract is of strategic importance to both Bombardier Transportation and the Sound Transit. We are honored to support its significant plans for the expansion of rail service over the next 10 years, " says Michel Baril, Bombardier Transportation President of Mass Transit - North America. "Bombardier's bi-level equipment offers significant savings to commuter operators with 70 percent more capacity than single-level coaches, close to 20 percent savings in energy consumption and overall operational and maintenance cost savings per passenger per mile."