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'EUROPEAN TRAMS COME TO U.S.'

 
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Mr. Linsky
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:23 pm    Post subject: 'EUROPEAN TRAMS COME TO U.S.' Reply with quote

European Tram Makers to Gain From U.S. Streetcar Push

By JOHN TAGLIABUE

Published: November 11, 2008 The New York Times
PARIS — America may have invented the streetcar, but Europe perfected it.

Trams returned to Paris in 2006, below. European companies hope for more orders for light rail systems from American cities.

As gas prices soared and dozens of North American communities sought to reintroduce electric streetcars as an alternative to diesel buses, Europe’s tram builders were some of the biggest beneficiaries.

Now, as the administration of President-elect Barack Obama contemplates an infrastructure expansion to keep Americans working through a severe slowdown, trams may be one of the building blocks of economic revival and energy efficiency.

“Trams were invented by the Americans,” said Jean-Noël Debroise, vice president for product planning at Alstom, the French streetcar builder that is selling its sleek Citadis tram to cities like Houston and Toronto. “It’s a big market,” he said.

European companies like Alstom, Siemens of Germany, AnsaldoBreda of Italy, CAF of Spain and Skoda of the Czech Republic will be at the head of the line. They, along with non-European companies like Bombardier of Canada and Kinki Sharyo of Japan, are among the leading suppliers of streetcars, which are also known as light rail vehicles.

“If we get a program funded at the federal level, a lot of cities will be expressing interest,” said Jeffrey F. Boothe, a Washington lawyer specializing in public transport. “At the end of the day, only lack of federal money was stopping them.”

There are still plenty of obstacles to overcome, especially as state and local governments struggle to sell bonds during the credit market slowdown.

But that has not stopped the Europeans from watching one of the few fast-growing markets in the world: the United States. In the second quarter of 2008, use of public transport rose by 5.2 percent, while light rail use jumped 12.3 percent, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

As of last year, almost 1,800 miles of tramways were operating or planned in American cities.

In May, Siemens, the market leader, landed a $277 million contract to supply streetcars to the Utah Transit Authority. The vehicles will be ready for service by 2012 and will be built at a Siemens factory in Sacramento.

This year, Siemens signed a $184 million order for a new light rail line in Denver.

“The Denver development was not atypical,” said Oliver O. Hauck, president and chief executive of Siemens Transportation Systems. “We began with an initial, small order” that eventually mushroomed into a substantial commitment. Siemens first delivered eight streetcars to Denver in 1993; the last order was for 55 cars, and Mr. Hauck expects more.

But the recent financial turmoil threatens the market. Cities and other local governments have been effectively shut out of the bond market. At last month’s annual gathering of the American Public Transportation Association, discussions ran hot and cold.

“At one level, the gathering had the highest attendance ever,” said Mr. Boothe, who took part. “At another level, as you talked to friends, everybody was looking at stock values.”

American contracts have served as a crucial support for Europe’s tram builders, offsetting a slump in domestic markets. They are largely shut out of markets in Eastern Europe and Asia, which are controlled by local competitors. And Western European countries are close to saturation.

A recent survey for the Association of the European Rail Industry by the Roland Berger consulting group forecast annual growth of about 1 percent for European light rail over the next decade, against more than 10 percent in North America.

Most European cities, even those with extensive subway systems, also rely on trams. For American cities, trams are increasingly seen as an alternative to far more expensive underground systems.

Siemens started the North American tram rolling in 1975, when it signed deals to deliver modern streetcars to Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta. Five years later, it delivered its first tram cars to the United States, to San Diego.

“We supplied an existing European product, an imported vehicle,” Mr. Hauck said, “though from then on, we increased local content.”

Obstacles abounded for the European manufacturers. For one thing, the Buy American Act required that 60 percent of a tram car, by value, come from the United States. Siemens, to meet the requirements, opened an assembly line in Sacramento.

“We are now at 70 percent local content, with a potential for 90 percent,” said Robin Stimson, a Siemens vice president.

Siemens has trams operating in Charlotte, N.C.; Houston; Norfolk, Va.; and many other cities.

Mr. Linsky - Green Buis Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY


Jacques Demarthon/Agence France Presse
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