Modern Drive Technology Helps Streetcars Roll Again

摘要

NEW POWER AND AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES, such as smaller form factor inverters and hybrid drive systems, are behind a resurgence in mass transit manufacturing and deployment in the United States. Over the past several years, the nearly extinct U.S. streetcar has been quietly making a comeback in cities such as Portland, Tucson and Seattle. Atlanta will soon be added to that list. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has awarded Siemens Industry Inc. a $17.2 million contract to provide Atlanta with four new streetcars. Manufacturing will be performed at Siemens' railcar and locomotive plant in Sacramento, Calif. (a facility powered primarily by two megawatts of solar energy) with major components, such as the propulsion system and auxiliary power supply, being built at Siemens' manufacturing facility in the metro-Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta.