The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) selected Siemens Mobility for the supply of 24 S200 light rail vehicles (LRVs) for Cleveland Red Line. The order also includes an option for up to 36 additional vehicles which will replace the fleet on the Blue and Green lines.
Siemens Mobility will deliver the entire ordered fleet in four years. The vehicles will 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 featuring a modern design with 52 easy-to-clean seats, additional standing room, four wheelchair areas for enhanced accessibility, two bicycle racks, and an advanced infotainment system.
The new vehicles will be manufactured considering Cleveland coldest temperatures being equipped with ice cutting technology and a modern operator cab area with a dedicated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, heated windshield, and enhanced visibility.
The final design will be co-created by GCRTA and Siemens Mobility over the next 15 months, before being built at Siemens Mobility’s rail manufacturing facility in Sacramento, CA.
The base order will serve the Red Line and as modifications to the existing platforms on the Blue and Green Lines are made, additional options may be exercised. GCRTA received a grant of USD 130 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the Rail Vehicle Replacement programme (FY 2022-23), a new programme created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In May, FTA announced a financing of USD 703 million for six rolling stock procurement projects including the one submitted by GCRTA.
The new light rail vehicles “will promote increased ridership and encourage transit-oriented development along the Cleveland Red Line communities from East Cleveland to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport,” said GCRTA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, India L. Birdsong Terry.
GCRTA’s current heavy and light rail fleet are 39 and 42 years old, exceeding the design life of typical transit passenger rail cars.
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