Portland — Seeking a Streetcar

Rail Transit Online, October 2006

The City of Portland has issued a Request for Proposals seeking offers from qualified firms or teams that can build a prototype streetcar that will be able to operate on the downtown streetcar system and be compatible with the ex­isting fleet.  Proposers must have documented experience in the development and deployment of domestic streetcar vehicles.   In August 2005, defense contractor Oregon Iron Works announced it wanted to become a manufacturer of modern streetcars, similar to the Czech-made Astra vehicles now operating in Portland and Tacoma.  The company said then it had already established a partnership with the Inekon Group in the Czech Republic, which manufactures the Astra.