The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) has exercised an option to order an additional 18 S200 LRVs from Siemens Mobility to replace their current fleet operating on the Red, Blue and Green lines. The delivery of the first S200 LRVs is expected in 2026.
Building on GCRTA’s initial purchase in 2023 for 24 S200 LRVs and their exercise of the first option for an additional 6 cars in 2024 to replace their current fleet, this new order of 18 vehicles increases GCRTA’s total number of Siemens Mobility LRVs in Cleveland to 48.
“Our team is elated to be one step closer to achieving a complete replacement of our rail fleet, after decades of dependable service within Greater Cleveland,” the Chief Executive Officer of GCRTA, India L. Birdsong Terry, said.
Vehicles from the initial order are currently in production at Siemens Mobility’s rail manufacturing facility in Sacramento, CA.
GCRTA’s existing fleet is more than 40 years old, exceeding the design life of typical transit passenger rail cars. The new high floor vehicles feature two door heights for high- and low-level platform accessibility, allowing the trains to operate on both the Red Line and the Blue and Green Line tracks.
The S200 LRVs offer the highest standards of passenger experience. They feature a modern design with 52 easy-to-clean seats for the highest level of sanitation, additional standing room, four wheelchair areas for enhanced accessibility, two bicycle racks, and an advanced infotainment system. In addition, the vehicles are built to withstand the coldest Cleveland winter weather, with ice cutting technology and a modern operator cab area with dedicated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, heated windshield, and enhanced visibility.
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is implementing its rolling stock renewal under which will replace 40 heavy railcars and 34 light railcars with 60 common railcars that can operate on both heavy and light rail systems.
USD 450 million is the budget for the programme which will reduce the number of rail cars needed and simplify maintenance, while delivered increased capacity and reliability. GCRTA’s heavy rail vehicles and light rail vehicles have approximately five and ten years of remaining useful life, respectively. As fleets age, in-service failures increase, customer service degrades, service reliability suffers, and maintenance costs increase.
The new rolling stock will serve the community for over 30 years and potentially increase ridership and stimulate transit-oriented development along the 53 km rail system.
Share on:
