http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Restoring+cars+could+save+Calgary+millions/4193981/story.html
Restoring old LRT cars could save Calgary millions
CALGARY — As the city debates how the initial instalment of provincial transit cash will be spent, a new option is being floated that might salvage a significant number of LRT vehicles heading for retirement, leaving a larger pot of money to develop southeast transit.
Last week, Bombardier Transportation met with a number of council members, and two aldermen say the company pitched the idea of refurbishing old LRT vehicles that are ending their service years.
If the option does prove worthwhile, it could add 15 years to the life of the aging Siemens U2 vehicles, and cost a fraction of the price to purchase new cars.
Bombardier is currently refurbishing some of Edmonton’s LRT vehicles for about $1 million each, according to the two aldermen, although it is acknowledged Calgary cars are more corroded and have seen more use over the years.
Still, even if the cost is 50 per cent higher, it’s worth a close look, says Ald. Shane Keating.
It would be cheaper than buying new vehicles, which would last longer but cost $3.5 million or more.
If five or six vehicles were refurbished every year, the cost could be included in the city budget, allowing more Green Trip provincial transit funds to go to improving rapid transit in the southeast, said Keating.
Two weeks ago, city administration recommended to a council committee that Calgary use most of the first instalment of Green Trip money — about $225 million — to buy 50 new light rail vehicles for roughly $200 million.
Transit right now has 154 LRT vehicles, with another 38 arriving. But the current inventory includes
82 Siemens U2s that need to be retired over the next 10 years.
In a report, administration said 50 new vehicles were needed to accommodate transit’s move to four-car trains and to deal with growing transit travel in the region. But the committee balked at the recommendation, with a cadre of aldermen proposing purchasing fewer vehicles and diverting $73.4 million for a southeast transitway. At the same meeting, Mayor Naheed Nenshi criticized administration for not justifying the need for 50 new vehicles.
Bombardier is currently overhauling 37 old LRT vehicles in Edmonton under a five-year contract.
The cost for that work is slightly less than $1 million per car, according to Dave Geake, the director of LRT in Edmonton. But some additional work is also being done, bringing the total cost to $1.4 million per vehicle.
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The Subway stations in Montreal are like mini-Art galleries, very aesthetically pleasing, far better than the Toronto stations (at least when I was there last anyway)
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