A $51.5 million contract with Siemens Industries for eight streetcars was approved by the OCTA Board of Directors, rolling OC’s first modern streetcar closer to reality. Six vehicles will operate at one time with two spares rotating in as needed. Once the vehicles are delivered, Siemens will provide systems support and training to operators and maintenance technicians.
“This is an important and exciting milestone for the OC Streetcar project as we have decided upon the vehicles that will provide Orange County residents another public transit option,” said OCTA Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, also the Fifth District Supervisor. “We’re looking forward to making the vision for a modern electric streetcar here in Orange County a reality.”
OCTA chose model S70, a 180-passenger streetcar that has proven successful in eight U.S. cities.
The $299 million estimated cost of the OC Streetcar project will be funded by a mix of state, federal, and local funding from Measure M (now named OC Go), Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.
OCTA is working closely with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which is considering a full funding grant agreement to pay for about half of the project’s cost. Because OCTA met all federal guidelines during the development of the project, FTA officials gave OCTA written pre-award authority to move forward with the purchase of vehicles.
The OC Streetcar will operate from the busy Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, along Santa Ana Boulevard and Fourth Street and along the Pacific Electric right-of-way to Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove.
Construction on the OC Streetcar is set to begin later this year with testing and operations beginning in 2021.
Learn more about OC Streetcar here.
OCTA has selected Siemens to supply vehicles for OC Streetcar. Shown is an artist’s conceptual rendering. The exact design and branding of the streetcars will be determined later this year.