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The first light-rail vehicle (LRV) built for the Central Corridor arrived yesterday at Target Field Station in downtown Minneapolis.

The new LRV No. 201 glided to a stop next to a recently repainted Hiawatha LRV waiting at the station during a ceremony yesterday, Metropolitan Council officials said in a prepared statement.

"The arrival of this American-made light-rail vehicle is a very visible symbol of the progress we're making toward finishing the line, which was 74 percent complete by the end of August," said Susan Haigh, chair of the Metropolitan Council, which oversees Metro Transit, the operator of Central Corridor.

"We are well on our way to achieving the 75 percent completion milestone this fall, thanks to the skill and dedication of more than 4,000 construction workers over the past three years," she said.

Forty-seven LRVs will be built by Siemens at its Sacramento, Calif., plant for the Green Line. The region's first LRT line, the Hiawatha, will receive 12 new LRVs as well, and that line will be rebranded the "Blue Line."

Testing of the new LRVs on Central Corridor tracks will begin in late 2013, with service expected to begin in 2014, officials said.