| WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia has added a third streetcar to its contract with Oregon Iron Works, Inc., the Washington Business Journal reports. The District's Department of Transportation is piggybacking on a streetcar order from the City of Portland, Ore., with Oregon Iron Works' subsidiary United Streetcar. The District, via the Portland deal, in April ordered two cars for its new H Street/Benning Road line at a cost of $8.7 million. United Streetcar will design, manufacturer, test, and deliver the car by Dec. 20, 2013. The District hopes to open the H Street line, the first leg of a proposed 37-mile streetcar system, by next summer. It already has three cars built by Czech company Inekon. The District expects the new line to be busy, and says it needs at least five streetcars to avoid 18-minute wait times. The Oregonian newspaper reported in June that United Streetcar, a relatively new entrant to the European-driven streetcar manufacturing industry, was months behind schedule on the construction of five cars for Portland's eastside line. Dara Ward, a consultant handling media for the D.C. streetcar project, said the city is aware of the reports that United Streetcar is behind. The District, she said, has "expressed our concern regarding on-time delivery." The first two cars are expected to be delivered in August 2013, and the third by December 2013. (http://forums.dctransit.info/Railroad%20News/News%20Wire/2012/08/District%20of%20Columbia%20orders%20third%20streetcar%20for%20new%20line.aspx#comments) |