[URBAN NOTE] "As TTC’s new streetcars lag behind, Detroit and L.A. stay on track"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Sammy Hudes reports on how Toronto's streetcar rollout is behind those of Detroit and Los Angeles.

As major delays continue to plague the TTC’s order of 204 new streetcars from Bombardier, other cities like Detroit and Los Angeles are celebrating the arrival of their fresh transit vehicles, built by other manufacturers, on — and in the case of Detroit, ahead of — schedule.

For car-friendly Los Angeles, its most recent transit endeavour has seen far more efficient — and timely — results than Toronto’s streetcar overhaul.

In August 2012, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority chose Japanese firm Kinkisharyo International to produce its new fleet of light rail vehicles, in part due to the company’s reputation of delivering on time. Kinkisharyo had previously built 62 light rail cars for Seattle’s Central Link from 2006-2010.

The initial contract tasked Kinkisharyo with producing a base order of 78 light rail vehicles. Satisfied with the partnership, L.A.’s transportation authority later increased its order to 235 vehicles, at a cost of more than $900 million.

[. . .]

The news in Detroit is also positive. While the order is not to scale of either Toronto’s streetcars or L.A.’s light rail vehicles, the first of Detroit’s six streetcars rolled in last month, and the new QLINE streetcar system should be operational by spring.

It took about 14 months from the time M-1 Rail, the organization leading the development of the 3.3-mile-system, signed on with Brookville Equipment Corporation to the delivery of its first car.

“We have worked at a faster pace, I think, than a lot of entities,” said Dan Lijana, spokesperson for M-1 Rail. “We basically set a target to try to get all these cars here on a more advanced schedule and they worked with us every step of the way to make that happen.”