Pittsburgh Regional Transit in the US state of Pennsylvania is to receive USD 82.8M in federal funding to support the purchase of 45 170ft (51.8m) LRVs to replace the existing fleet of 76 80-foot (24.4m) cars eliminating the need for multiple-unit operation and improving energy efficiency. The total contract value is estimated to be USD 777M, but this includes station modifications to improve accessibility. The existing fleet includes dual boarding entrances to allow for different stop platform heights.
PRT operates a three-line 26.2 mile (41.6km) light rail system that links the city centre with the southern suburbs via a bridge across the Monongahela River and the South Hills transit tunnel. The existing fleet to be replaced includes Siemens SD400 built in 1985-87 and CAF LRVs dating from 2003/4. The system if one of the surviving first-generation systems, with part dating back to 1903. It uses broad gauge (5’2.5”/1588mm) track and caters for about 3.1M passengers/year.
Pittsburgh LRV train in the South Hills. (Wikipedia Commons CCO)
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