Seattle transport authority Sound Tranzit announced it has finalised an order for 122 new light rail vehicles that will be manufactured by Siemens Industry, Inc. in Sacramento. The contract for the new vehicles is approximately USD 554 million. The new fleet will begin arriving in 2019 for testing ahead of the light rail extension from the University of Washington to Northgate opening in 2021
The new vehicles feature a more spacious interior with more passenger room than the current fleet of 62 cars. Final capacities will be determined as the interior designs are finalized.
Along with more passenger room, the new vehicles will have more room for luggage to be stowed beneath seats and hooks to hang four bikes per vehicle. Current trains have hooks for two bikes per car.
Sound Transit needs to nearly triple the size of its current fleet as it expands the light rail network to the north, east and south over the next seven years, adding more than 48 km of voter-approved extensions. By 2023, Sound Transit will operate nearly 80.4 km of light rail lines extending to Lynnwood in the north, Bellevue and Redmond’s Overlake area to the east and the Kent/Des Moines area in the south. The extensions and new light rail vehicles are part of the 2008 voter-approved Sound Transit 2 expansion plan.
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