The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) has selected Siemens Mobility to replace GCRTA’s Red Line fleet. GCRTA’s purchase of 24 S200 Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) includes an option for up to 36 additional vehicles which would replace GCRTA’s Blue and Green Line fleet.

GCRTA’s current heavy and light rail fleets are 39 and 42 years old, exceeding the design life of typical transit passenger rail cars. Delivery of the new S200 LRVs is scheduled to be completed in four years. The new high floor vehicles will feature two door heights for high- and low-level platform accessibility, allowing the trains to operate on both the Red Line and the Blue and Green Line tracks.

The base order will serve the Red Line and as modifications to the existing platforms on the Blue and Green Lines are made, additional options may be exercised. GCRTA received a grant of $130M from the Federal Transit Administration through the FY22/23 Rail Vehicle Replacement Program, a new program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The S200 LRVs offer the highest standards of passenger experience: featuring a modern design with 52 easy-to-clean seats for the highest level of sanitation, additional standing room, four wheelchair areas for enhanced accessibility, two bicycle racks, and an advanced infotainment system. In addition, the vehicles will be built to withstand the coldest Cleveland days, with ice cutting technology and a modern operator cab area with a dedicated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, heated windshield, and enhanced visibility. The final design will be co-created by GCRTA and Siemens Mobility over the next 15-month period, before being built at Siemens Mobility’s rail manufacturing facility in Sacramento, CA.

GCRTA is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. It is the largest transit agency in Ohio, with an annual ridership of over 19 million.

-via Press Release