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(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) along with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and INEKON have successfully completed Phase I of a two phase plan to bring the District’s three original streetcar vehicles to revenue ready condition by the fall of 2012.
Over the past two weeks, a team of technicians from INEKON, the manufacturer of the vehicles, conducted an inspection and assessment of the three streetcars that included inspecting and assessing all the electrical and mechanical systems, and repairing water leaks.
“We have not seen the final report but our team says the preliminary results look good,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “What we have seen so far are minor cosmetic failures and most have already been repaired.”
The inspection and assessment will identify any long lead-time items that may need to be replaced or repaired, with enough time to make the corrections prior to bringing the system on-line in 2013. Phase II of the process will correct all found defects and engage the traction power system under 750 Vdc.
The vehicles were manufactured in 2007 and stored in the Czech Republic until 2009 when they were shipped to the United States. Since that time, WMATA has been storing them at their rail yard in Greenbelt, Maryland.
This fall, DDOT will finish work on a streetcar testing and commissioning track allowing WMATA and INEKON to complete the final steps to certify the vehicles are safe to operate. Once that happens, the vehicles will be turned over to DDOT, and subsequently to the operator that DDOT will be bring onboard later this year.
Using the test track, the operator will begin to familiarize themselves with the cars and conduct safety training with local emergency response agencies. Then, once the H Street/Benning Road line comes online in 2013, the cars will be transported over and used to complete the commissioning of the system.
