San Francisco MTA to acquire new light-rail cars for Muni service

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee today is expected to sign a $648 million contract to allow the the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to purchase 175 new "fleet of the future'" light-rail vehicles for the city's Municipal Railway (Muni) service.

The contract includes options for an additional 85 cars, bringing the overall total to 260 cars. The resolution supporting what could be a $1.2 billion contract was approved by the city's Board of Supervisors last week, local news media reported.

To be manufactured by Siemens, the cars will help improve the reliability, safety and customer communications of the Muni service, SFTMA officials said in a press release.

After today's signing ceremony, the mayor is expected to be briefed on the types of testing that Siemens will undertake over the next few months to measure track. A current light-rail vehicle will be equipped with special measuring, tracking and monitoring devices to take the first measurements. Data retrieved from the test will help Siemens design the new vehicles.