Trinity Metro and Stadler to Sign Contract for TEX Rail Vehicles on June 9 at ITC *Recent TEX Rail Milestone Drives The T to Order Rail Cars and Move toward Construction
FORT WORTH (June 8, 2015) – Officials of Trinity Metro will sign a contract with Stadler Bussnang AG (Stadler) for the manufacture and delivery of eight (8) Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) rail vehicles for TEX Rail at a ceremony on Tuesday, June 9 at noon at Trinity Metro’s Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC). The ITC is one of the ten stations where the DMU vehicles will operate when TEX Rail service begins in 2018 from downtown Fort Worth, northeast across Tarrant County to Grapevine and into Terminal B at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Stadler President, Chairman of the Board and Group CEO Peter Spuhler will be in Fort Worth to sign the rail car agreement along with Trinity Metro Board Chair Scott Mahaffey and Trinity Metro President/CEO Paul Ballard. Other Trinity Metro board members and Stadler representatives are expected to be present for the signing.
Trinity Metro began the procurement process for DMU vehicles in 2014 due to the three year lead time for developing specifications, production, delivery and operation training for staff.
At its April 2015 meeting, Trinity Metro board approved an agreement with Stadler for a contract, contingent upon TEX Rail’s authorization to enter into the Engineering phase that immediately precedes the start of construction. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave that approval on June 2 that now allows Trinity Metro to finalize a rail manufacturing contract.
The TEX Rail commuter rail will run on a 27-mile corridor with ten stations from downtown Fort Worth, northeast across Tarrant County to Grapevine and into Terminal B at DFW Airport. It will have a projected average daily ridership of more than10,000 in its initial year of service.