“An infrastructure expansion to keep Americans working through a severe slowdown could see trams as one of the building blocks of economic revival and energy efficiency.”
So says an industry reporter; whom I believe.
“Trams were invented by the Americans,” said Jean-Noël Debroise, vice president for product planning at Alstom, the French streetcar builder (private) that is selling its sleek Citadis tram to cities like Houston and Toronto. “It’s a big market,” he said.
In the second quarter of 2008, use of public transport rose by 5.2 percent, while light rail use jumped 12.3 percent, according to the American Public Transportation Association. As of last year, almost 1,800 miles of tramways were operating or planned in American cities.
In May, Siemens Transportation Systems (private), the U.S. market leader, landed a $277 million contract to supply streetcars to the Utah Transit Authority. The vehicles will be ready for service by 2012 and will be built at a Siemens factory in Sacramento.
This year, Siemens signed a $184 million order for a new light rail line in Denver. “The Denver development was not atypical,” said Oliver O. Hauck, president and chief executive of Siemens Transportation Systems. “We began with an initial, small order that eventually mushroomed into a substantial commitment.”
Siemens first delivered eight streetcars to Denver in 1993; the last order was for 55 cars, and Mr. Hauck expects more.
The trouble I came across in doing a little research into trams was that most of the company’s were private.
In fact, the only company that is currently a major player around the world which trades publicly is Bombardier Transportation on the TSX, the Toronto Exchange (TSX:BBD.B). Bombardier and French rival Alstom will submit a joint bid to supply new transit cars for the Montreal Metro's $1.2-billion upgrade.
Obstacles abound for companies outside the U.S.
For one thing, the Buy American Act required that 60 percent of a tram car, by value, come from the United States. Siemens, to meet the requirements, opened an assembly line in Sacramento. “We are now at 70 percent local content, with a potential for 90 percent,” said Robin Stimson, a Siemens vice president. Siemens has trams operating in Charlotte, N.C.; Houston; Norfolk, Va.; and many other cities.
My self I have two feelings about this; first, the smaller companies will take on major (publicly traded U.S. partners) and secondly, an entire secondary industry could develop around ‘local’ light-rail systems.
MarketMan
