advertisement

---

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s board May 16 approved a contract modification regarding the manufacture of 192 series 5000 rail cars, and awarded a contract for the construction of New York Avenue station.



Team AAI-CAF, which is manufacturing the cars, was granted a 29-week extension to the delivery schedule at no cost to WMATA in exchange for additional work to be performed on the cars by CAF. To help CAF meet the new deadline, the company is adding another final assembly line at its Elmira, N.Y., plant.



"While we recognize that this is the first contract in the United States that CAF has undertaken, we will continue to work aggressively in partnership with this company to ensure that the end results are the production of a high-quality product," said WMATA Deputy General Manager Jim Gallagher in a prepared statement.



By February 2001, WMATA had received the first 10 cars, which were still in the acceptance and testing phase, and expected to receive the remaining cars at a rate of 10 per month for the next 18 months.



As of May 1, 36 of the cars were in service, 24 in the Greenbelt shop, 16 in final assembly in Hunt Valley, 38 in storage at the Elmira plant and the Port of Baltimore, and the remaining 78 in various stages of assembly in Spain.



The revised contract completion date for all 192 5000 series cars is April 2003.



Meanwhile, WMATA’s board also May 16 awarded joint venture Lane Construction/Slattery/Skanska a $65.2 million contract to build New York Avenue station, line, trackwork and systems, including traction power, a train-control facilities equipment maintenance room, communications, and electrical and mechanical systems.



New York Avenue station is referred to as an "in-fill" station because it will be built between two existing, operating rail stations. WMATA officials expect to open the station in late 2004.