FTA awards TriMet $2.4M for streetcar research

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff announced that Portland, Ore.-based Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) will receive $2.4 million in federal research funds to support the development of streetcar components that will be made in the U.S.

TriMet will use the funds to support the development of a domestically-produced streetcar propulsion system, as well as initial work to develop a streetcar that can operate for short distances without power from overhead wires, allowing the potential for streetcar service to be introduced where historic, environmental or other concerns limit the installation of overhead wires.

At present there is no domestic manufacturer of streetcar propulsion systems. The propulsion system represents about 20 percent of the total cost of a vehicle. The FTA will fund 80 percent of the $3-million project, with a local match of $600,000.

The work will be done by the Clackamas, Oregon-based manufacturer Oregon Iron Works, the parent company of United Streetcar LLC.