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The current vehicles have either reached the end of their useful life or will do so within five years, a time frame required by the Rail Vehicle Replacement program.
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It seems that their main objective is a low floor accessibility initiative as these original cars aren't particularly old by international standards as several European cities are still operating 50 year old Düwag and Tatra trams. In my opinion the desire for low floor boarding isn't worth this kind of expense for a system like Baltimore that should be focusing on other expansions and improvements. These ABB cars probably have another 15 years in them with a minor cosmetic and running gear overhaul. Waste of scarce $$$.