by tommyboy6181
10 years ago as of August 23, 2011, the first two pairs of the CAF 5000 series took their first revenue trip on the Green Line starting at Greenbelt.
Link: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/p ... ice--10634
Now that these cars have been in the system this long, it's interesting to see the lessons learned from this contract. First things first, this was the first ever contract for CAF in the United States. There were a lot of technical problems from the start on these cars as we all remember. Partly because Metro couldn't project ridership that well, and partly because CAF had never established a plant here prior. Then we add in AAI, which did the assembly here in Hunt Valley, MD. That may have been part of the issue as well (their transit division has since been bought by Alstom.) Also, these are rated as the most unreliable cars in the system, besides the soon to be rehabbed Breda 4000 series.
However in that time, both Metro and CAF have made many changes. Metro finally got rid of the "lowest price bid" and went to "best value" which accounts for the technical side as well. This has helped with the rehab/6k contracts going to Alstom. Yes, there were problems with those contracts, but the 2/3/6k cars are the most reliable in the system. Then, Metro chose Kawasaki for the soon to be 7k series coming online. That was a great statement. With the 7k cars, I expect that it will even top the Alstom cars/rehabs in reliability. At least it prevented Hyundai Rotem from getting the contract as they were rated near the very bottom in that proposal. They actually didn't even make the cut to the final 3 at that time. That nod went to Bombardier, Alstom and Kawasaki.
CAF has now opened dedicated facilities in Elmira Heights, NY and has produced better trains since WMATA. Examples are the Sacramento and Pittsburgh LRV trains that were built afterwards in Elmira. Quality control in-house compared to a 3rd party company seems to have helped them out a ton. Also, they have won the AMTRAK contracts recently to build new heavy rail vehicles, and have become a bigger global transportation company. With CAF, it was probably growing pains of having the 1st contract fast-tracked to get relief in an overcrowded system.
In either case, it has been an interesting ride for both organizations over the past 10 years.
Link: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/p ... ice--10634
Now that these cars have been in the system this long, it's interesting to see the lessons learned from this contract. First things first, this was the first ever contract for CAF in the United States. There were a lot of technical problems from the start on these cars as we all remember. Partly because Metro couldn't project ridership that well, and partly because CAF had never established a plant here prior. Then we add in AAI, which did the assembly here in Hunt Valley, MD. That may have been part of the issue as well (their transit division has since been bought by Alstom.) Also, these are rated as the most unreliable cars in the system, besides the soon to be rehabbed Breda 4000 series.
However in that time, both Metro and CAF have made many changes. Metro finally got rid of the "lowest price bid" and went to "best value" which accounts for the technical side as well. This has helped with the rehab/6k contracts going to Alstom. Yes, there were problems with those contracts, but the 2/3/6k cars are the most reliable in the system. Then, Metro chose Kawasaki for the soon to be 7k series coming online. That was a great statement. With the 7k cars, I expect that it will even top the Alstom cars/rehabs in reliability. At least it prevented Hyundai Rotem from getting the contract as they were rated near the very bottom in that proposal. They actually didn't even make the cut to the final 3 at that time. That nod went to Bombardier, Alstom and Kawasaki.
CAF has now opened dedicated facilities in Elmira Heights, NY and has produced better trains since WMATA. Examples are the Sacramento and Pittsburgh LRV trains that were built afterwards in Elmira. Quality control in-house compared to a 3rd party company seems to have helped them out a ton. Also, they have won the AMTRAK contracts recently to build new heavy rail vehicles, and have become a bigger global transportation company. With CAF, it was probably growing pains of having the 1st contract fast-tracked to get relief in an overcrowded system.
In either case, it has been an interesting ride for both organizations over the past 10 years.
Gotta love Alstom. Every year on opening day of hunting season, it is a paid holiday!