KC Streetcar CAF Vehicle in Operation in Kansas City
Perhaps the most important element of a transit system is the vehicle. This is what people interact with the most when utilizing the service and it can make or break the system, made even more essential by the fact that vehicles can last upwards to 50 years before being fully retired. Vehicles are a very capital-intensive resource and take a long lead time to procure. And vehicles can be the face of the system, what people think of first when referring to a transit line.
Therefore, it is imperative that the Omaha Streetcar vehicles are the best available, a great fit for our city, and will provide reliable service with a good impression on passengers for many years to come. This article will provide a lot of information on the current Omaha Streetcar vehicles that are being built, dig into the history of light rail/streetcar vehicles in general, and provide some information on rail cars that are built near Omaha!
Part 1: Omaha Streetcar Vehicles
On Monday, March 13, 2024, the Omaha Streetcar Authority (OSA) Board of Directors approved an order for six new streetcar vehicles, plus spare parts, from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (known as CAF in the transit industry). The total contract is for $41.1 million ($6.85 million per streetcar, plus the spare parts for regular maintenance). The vehicles will be built in Spain, where CAF was founded in 1917. CAF started a manufacturing plant in the United States in 2000 (originally built in 1986 for another rail manufacturer) in Elmira Heights, N.Y…