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Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) recently received a notice to proceed from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), enabling the agency to purchase 16 light-rail vehicles for its South Corridor Light Rail project.

Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. will provide the 91-foot-long, low-floor vehicles. The $52.5 million order includes an option to purchase up to 25 additional cars during a four-year period. The first vehicle is scheduled for delivery in late 2005.

CATS and the North Carolina Department of Transportation still are awaiting final FTA approval for a Full Funding Grant Agreement.

Scheduled to open in October 2006, the Charlotte-to-Pineville, N.C., light-rail system is expected to average more than 17,000 daily passengers by 2025.