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Old 03-31-2010, 09:56 AM   #90
frinkprof
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Well Bombardier's presence in North American light rail systems has been kind of sporadic. They have been involved in some heavier rail systems like Vancouver's as well as Montreal and Toronto. Their big presence in Europe over the last couple decades has a lot to do with the fact that they bought out some German manufacturers over the years. Bombardier-Transportation is actually headquartered in Berlin and they have some factories there. Yes, Bombardier's "Flexity" tram cars are pretty popular right now.

Calgary's (as well as Edmonton and San Diego, the three pioneers in modern North American LRT systems) original cars (the U2) were actually a German design by a company called Duwag that was bought out by Siemens.

Lots of other systems still go with Siemens trains. Salt Lake City, Denver, Portland, Edmonton, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Houston, Charlotte, Norfolk (their system opens soon). Siemens LRVs (light rail vehicles) for their North American customers are all assembled in Sacramento and are shipped up to Calgary (and other destinations) by rail or truck.
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