Light Rail Cars - Made in Japan
First Cars for Valley are Right on Track
Japanese Maker to Start Tests Soon
Sean Holstege, The Arizona Republic, July 10, 2006
The first of the Valley's light-rail cars have rolled off an assembly line in Osaka, Japan, and soon will undergo a battery of tests before heading for Arizona.
Valley Metro officials said manufacturer Kinkisharyo International will open a facility in Arizona. Final components on the cars, such as wiring, will be installed at the new facility. The plant's location is being negotiated.
Next month, one of the two finished cars, Vehicle 102, will be exposed to Arizona-like conditions in a climate chamber as 17 other cabs are being built. It will be blasted with 127-degree heat and 95 percent humidity as it is tested to see if massive, state-of-the-art air-conditioners can maintain a constant 74 to 78 degrees inside the cars. The other car will go to New Jersey, where engineers will comb through the car to test every inch, from the seats to the public address system.
Metro plans to spend $118 million for 50 rail cars from Kinkisharyo. Work remains on schedule and on budget, according to a Valley Metro report. The train cars will begin arriving in December at a rate of two or three a month. The public will see empty vehicles on a Washington Street test track in March. The train cars are expected to be shipped across the Pacific Ocean and unloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Each car is 92 feet long and seats 66 people, plus it has enough standing room for a total of 173 people. They will feature four doors, interior hanging bicycle racks, low floors and closed-circuit security cameras. The trains are capable of traveling 55 mph and are powered by a 750-volt overhead line. They have shock-absorbing bumpers to limit damage to cars in case of a crash.
There are no U.S. manufacturers of light-rail cars. Federal "buy American" laws require that 62 percent of the work be done in the United States, which is why the final assembly plant will be in Arizona. Metro's steel rails were manufactured in Austria, and fare machines are being built by a Germany-based company.
Reach the reporter at sean.holstege@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8334.
Japanese Maker to Start Tests Soon
Sean Holstege, The Arizona Republic, July 10, 2006
The first of the Valley's light-rail cars have rolled off an assembly line in Osaka, Japan, and soon will undergo a battery of tests before heading for Arizona.
Valley Metro officials said manufacturer Kinkisharyo International will open a facility in Arizona. Final components on the cars, such as wiring, will be installed at the new facility. The plant's location is being negotiated.
Next month, one of the two finished cars, Vehicle 102, will be exposed to Arizona-like conditions in a climate chamber as 17 other cabs are being built. It will be blasted with 127-degree heat and 95 percent humidity as it is tested to see if massive, state-of-the-art air-conditioners can maintain a constant 74 to 78 degrees inside the cars. The other car will go to New Jersey, where engineers will comb through the car to test every inch, from the seats to the public address system.
Metro plans to spend $118 million for 50 rail cars from Kinkisharyo. Work remains on schedule and on budget, according to a Valley Metro report. The train cars will begin arriving in December at a rate of two or three a month. The public will see empty vehicles on a Washington Street test track in March. The train cars are expected to be shipped across the Pacific Ocean and unloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Each car is 92 feet long and seats 66 people, plus it has enough standing room for a total of 173 people. They will feature four doors, interior hanging bicycle racks, low floors and closed-circuit security cameras. The trains are capable of traveling 55 mph and are powered by a 750-volt overhead line. They have shock-absorbing bumpers to limit damage to cars in case of a crash.
There are no U.S. manufacturers of light-rail cars. Federal "buy American" laws require that 62 percent of the work be done in the United States, which is why the final assembly plant will be in Arizona. Metro's steel rails were manufactured in Austria, and fare machines are being built by a Germany-based company.
Reach the reporter at sean.holstege@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8334.
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