It is back to square one for Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in its quest to buy new rail cars.
The transit agency said Friday afternoon it has canceled its plans to find a manufacturer for the cars because the sole proposal it received provided to be inadequate.
RTA said in a news release that it would start the search over but “remains committed” to replacing its rail car fleet.
The news release said the new search will begin at an unspecified point during the next few months.
The request for proposals was sent to rail car manufacturers in February. At the time, RTA specified it was seeking a car type that could operate on all three of if rail lines.
At the time, RTA acknowledged that would involve a specialized product but that it would make maintenance easier and less costly.
Two vendors showed interest in the request for proposals but only one submitted a formal proposal by the May deadline.
After reviewing that proposal, RTA staff concluded the proposal “was not responsive to the technical requirements of the solicitation.”
A rail passenger advocacy group, All Aboard Ohio, had warned earlier that RTA’s timeline on its rail car acquisition program was too tight and would drive up costs.
AAO filed a complaint with the inspector general of the Federal Transportation Administration after RTA twice denied deadline extensions by one or more manufacturers.
The costs of the new rail cars has been put at approximately $240 million. The transit agency is seeking new cars after a consultant said in 2019 that cars used on the Red Line are in poor condition and had a useful life of at most five years.
Cars used on the Blue and Green lines were said by the consultant to have a useful life of 10 years or less.
Tags: Cleveland RTA rail cars, Cleveland RTA rail service, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Greater Cleveland RTA, Public transit, Public transportation
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