Portland

Rail Transit Online, March 2005

Streetcars Ordered

Three more trams have been ordered from the Czech Republic for the downtown Portland streetcar line, part of a joint order with WMATA in Washington, D.C., for six units.  The double-ended cars will be built by DPO Inekon, a joint venture of the Czech commercial house Inekon and the transit authority in the Czech city of Ostrava, which has a large, modern maintenance facility capable of building new streetcars.  The vehicles for Portland and Washington have been dubbed the model 12T and named Trio.  The Portland versions were ordered for the 0.6-mi. (0.965 km) Gibbs Extension, a two-station, single-track line into the heart of the South Waterfront District.  Construction began in January and revenue service is scheduled for late 2006.  The cost is estimated at $15.8 million, including purchase of the three streetcars which will be very similar to the seven model 10T Astra vehicles from Skoda Inekon that are currently operating in Portland.  (The partnership between Skoda and Inekon has been dissolved, with the Astra remaining available as a wholly Skoda product.) 

Streetcar Extension Ready

The 0.6-mi. (0.96 km) streetcar extension from Portland State University to RiverPlace on the Willamette River opens for revenue service on Mar. 11.  Cars began testing the line on Jan. 28 and fine-tuning will continue until a ribbon-cutting ceremony is held at 11 a.m. on Mar. 11.  The streetcar will then have 40 stops and six miles (9.65 km) of track.  The original line opened in July 2001 and is now operated by seven Astra streetcars manufactured in the Czech Republic.  Another short extension, to the North Macadam Urban Renewal Area, is in the planning stage.  A preliminary study by TriMet shows a further streetcar extension, rather than light rail, would be the best transit solution to connect Portland with nearby Lake Oswego.