BROOKVILLE, Pa. – Brookville Equipment Corporation (BROOKVILLE) will manufacture a streetcar fleet for Valley Metro Rail after being awarded a $33 million contract to design, build and deliver six off-wire capable Liberty Streetcars for the Tempe Streetcar.
The Liberty Streetcars will operate along a new streetcar corridor connecting Tempe residents and visitors, as well as Arizona State University (ASU) students with key current and emerging local destinations. The streetcar vehicle will include on-board battery energy storage, allowing the vehicles to travel segments without overhead power wires for portions of the route. The streetcar batteries will recharge while connected to areas where there is overhead wire.
“BROOKVILLE is excited to work with Valley Metro by providing an American-manufactured streetcar vehicle for a new transit service that will link the current Valley Metro Rail system to ASU, downtown Tempe, Rio Salado Parkway and emerging activity centers,” said BROOKVILLE Vice President of Business Development Joel McNeil.
Tempe Streetcar riders will experience station-level boarding provided by an automatic leveling system, which adjusts the vehicle’s platform height as passenger loading fluctuates. The vehicles also include more than 70 percent low floor area and feature priority seating for people with disabilities and mobility devices. Measuring approximately 70 feet long and eight feet eight inches wide, the Liberty Streetcars will comfortably transport a total of approximately 120 passengers with seating for 32 passengers
Tempe will be the fifth city to operate BROOKVILLE’s off-wire capable Liberty Streetcars, which are currently in service for DART in Dallas, Texas (four vehicles) and the QLINE Detroit (six vehicles).
In addition, BROOKVILLE is nearing delivery of Liberty Streetcars for the City of Oklahoma City (seven vehicles) and the City of Milwaukee (five vehicles).
The fleet for Tempe Streetcar is scheduled for delivery by 2020, ahead of the streetcar line’s start-up of service. The vehicles will be designed and manufactured at BROOKVILLE’s Western Pennsylvania facility and will exceed Buy America requirements of more than 70 percent American content.
ABOUT BROOKVILLE EQUIPMENT CORPORATION – STREETCAR DIVISION
Headquartered in Brookville, Pa., in the scenic foothills of the Allegheny forests, Brookville Equipment Corporation is a world class American manufacturer of innovative powered transportation solutions for the mining/tunneling, rail freight and passenger transportation industries. BROOKVILLE contributed to the first American manufactured streetcars since the 1950s in 2001 and has modernized, manufactured and remanufactured PCC and heritage streetcars and trolleys for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA), the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). Building upon the company’s 95 years of rail-mounted vehicle manufacturing experience and over a decade of streetcar manufacturing, BROOKVILLE introduced the innovative Liberty Streetcar design in 2012, with the pilot order delivered to Dallas, Texas in 2015. Later in 2015, the Liberty Streetcar onboard energy storage system (OESS) was honored with the LRTA’s Global Light Rail Award for ‘Technical Innovation of the Year.’ Additional Liberty Streetcars have been ordered by M1-RAIL in Detroit, the City of Oklahoma City, and the City of Milwaukee.
About Valley Metro: Valley Metro provides eco-friendly public transit options to residents of greater Phoenix and Maricopa County including the planning and operations of a regional bus system and the development and operations of 26 miles of light rail. In Fiscal Year 2016, total ridership for the system was 67 million passengers. Seven high capacity transit extensions are planned or under construction that will create a 66-mile system by 2034. Valley Metro also offers transit options including alternative transportation programs for seniors and people with disabilities, commuter vanpools, online carpool matching, bus trip mapping, bicycle safety and telework assistance. Two Boards of Directors set the policy direction for the agency with the intent of advancing the regional public transit system. Get the latest news by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or visiting valleymetro.org.