How much does a LRV cost?

Simple enough question, but the internet is no help. Anyone got any estimates?

It depends on a great number of factors, such as where the equipment is built, how many cars are in the order, the equipment specifications and whether a stock design can be used, and in the end, the price is whatever the lowest bidder and the purchasing agency agree on. But for a very rough estimate, I'd say somewhere between $2 million and $3 million per new unit.

VTA's 1991 LRVs cost about $1 million per unit. Usually these things are priced by the set, so they quote a price for constructing a certain number of them. The more you order, the less it costs per unit. The costs include engineering and other one-time costs, since every transit system is in some way different and each LRV order is a custom order. It's not like these are off-the-shelf items.

I believe the Boston MBTA's (ill-fated) Type 8 LRV's were coming in at about $2.15 million a piece originally. They've ended up costing the T much more than that in the long run, but that's another story.