Quote:
As I recall, AnsaldoBreda had a contract to provide cars to MTA. There was also an option to provide more. That option was not acted upon because AnsaldoBreda was not fulfilling the agreement for the initial purchase. That was about a year ago and is probably documented in this thread on an earlier page??? Or, in the LA Times. Anyway, MTA still needs car, right?
|
The Government Accountability Office published a report earlier this year about procurement of passenger rail cars, "Potential Rail Car Cost-Saving Strategies Exist." It has been several months since I read the report but the report notes that firms that produce passenger rail cars often have to customize the cars for specific transit agencies because of local track issues, tunnel height/width, current fleet interoperability, etc... The report notes that there is potential for cost savings by joint procurement-- purchasing vehicles with other agencies so they have larger orders and more standardization, potentially giving the transit agencies leverage for cost concessions.
Here's the link:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10730.pdf