Recent TEXRail Milestone Drives Trinity Metro to Order Rail Cars and Move toward Construction
FORT WORTH (June 10, 2015) – Officials of Trinity Metro signed a contract with Stadler Bussnang AG (Stadler) for the manufacture and delivery of eight (8) Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) rail vehicles for TEXRail 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 TEXRail service begins in 2018.
Stadler President, Chairman of the Board and Group CEO Peter Spuhler was in Fort Worth to sign the rail car agreement along with Trinity Metro Board Chair Scott Mahaffey and Trinity Metro President/CEO Paul Ballard. Also present for the signing were other Trinity Metro board members and officers and Michael Morris, Director of Transportation Michael Morris.
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 TEXRail’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 allowed The T to finalize a rail manufacturing contract.
The TEXRail 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.