On Jan. 16, Siemens delivered its first new S200 light rail vehicle to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). This is the first of the 215 LRV to arrive from Siemens' manufacturing plant in Sacramento, Calif., en route to begin testing and service later this year.
SFMTA exercised an option for 40 additional LRVs under its original 175-vehicle contract, signed in September 2014. This amounts to Siemens' largest order ever for LRVs placed in the U.S.
“An incredible amount of work went into making sure these vehicles are going to work for us in San Francisco – for our riders, for our hills, for our environment on the streets,” said SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin. “So much detail went into making sure that we’re really going to get the performance, the comfort, the safety that we want in our system.”
Siemens highlights that "the vehicles are more energy-efficient with a regenerative braking system and LED lighting that uses up to 40% less electricity than standard neon lighting" and expects the vehicles "to last 10 times longer before requiring significant maintenance than the previous light rail vehicles."