Renderings Revealed For Cincinnati Streetcar Vehicles
Mayor Mark Mallory and representatives from streetcar vehicle manufacturer CAF USA held a public viewing at Christian Moerlein Brewery Taproom, showing residents what the Cincinnati Streetcar will look like.
The Cincinnati Streetcar team gathered community input to guide the design. Design firm LPK helped the team hold a 40-person community input session. Several designs were then brought before a group of about 20 community members for review. Among the factors considered for the design were low cost maintenance and color resistance to fading. Of course, an aesthetically pleasing paint scheme was needed as well. The community panel made a decision on a selection of orange shades for the exterior color, which pays tribute to the dark orange historic Cincinnati streetcars that ended service in 1951.
Mayor Mark Mallory and City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. then selected the final design, which includes an exterior color and interior accent walls of Daffodil Yellow (light orange), stainless steel interior features, and Capri Blue seats.
Virginia Verdeja, CAF USA Vice President of Sales, and Jitendra Tomar, CAF USA Vice President of Marketing attended the presentation, and expressed pride in their business partnering with a city that is serving as a model for new streetcar systems across the United States.
CAF USA is manufacturing the vehicles, which will be the first 100% low-floor rail vehicles in North America. This feature will allow seniors and people with disabilities to enter and ride the streetcar independently without needing assistance from the driver. Low-floor vehicles also make boarding easy for people with strollers, walkers, luggage, shopping totes, and small children.
Production on vehicle components will start in early November.
Other notables:
- 154-person capacity
- Has 32 seats, including 6 that fold up to make room for strollers, wheelchairs and bicycles
- Can fit 4-6 bicycles with other passengers
- Self service for people with wheelchairs, unlike buses which require assistance from the driver
- Level boarding to the curb means easy access for wheelchairs, for people with visual impairment or mobility issues
- Final vehicle assembly will take place in Elmira, NY late summer 2014
- First vehicle arrives in March 2015; remaining 4 vehicles arrive after that
CAF USA, a subsidiary of CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A.) is an international market leader in the design, manufacture, maintenance, and supply of equipment and components for railway systems. In addition to winning the bid to manufacture five vehicles for Cincinnati’s streetcar system in 2012, CAF USA recently announced it will be building five more vehicles for the Kansas City Streetcar as a result of their partnership with Cincinnati.