Miami Metrorail | New Vehicle Replacement

sandman · Aug 13, 2012

A short summary of what we know to date regarding the Metrorail plan to replace their current fleet of cars. The summary was written by Miami-Dade transit in July 2012:

Metrorail New Vehicle Replacement

Based on the final negotiated price to rehabilitate the existing 136 rail car fleet, current operating and market conditions, and the results of life cycle cost analyses of new versus rehab, MiamiDade County has determined that the procurement of new rail cars in lieu of rehabilitation would present a best value procurement option at this time. The Miami-Dade BCC and the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) approved the $401 million procurement of 136 new Metrorail vehicles featuring more comfortable interiors and a self-diagnostic system to address mechanical issues before they result in failures. The Request for Proposals (RFP No. 654) was issued on March 31, 2009. Car manufacturers Alstom, AnsaldoBreda, and CAF submitted proposals on September 25, 2009. The MDT Project Team completed evaluation of the proposals and negotiations with the two responsive proposers. The Department of Procurement Management (DPM) has completed its Responsibility Reviews and the then County Manager recommended AnsaldoBreda to the Miami-Dade BCC for contract award.

A protest was filed by CAF against the Manager’s award recommendation in February 2011. The protest was resolved by a hearing examiner in favor of the County in March 2011. CAF then filed an appeal to the FTA which ruled in favor of CAF in November 2011. The ruling issued instructions to the County to review the Best and Final Offer (BAFO) proposals for CAF and AnsaldoBreda and eliminate violations of FTA regulations regarding Geographical Preferences (FTA Circular 4220.1F). The Negotiating Committee was reconvened in December 2011 and reviewed the BAFO proposals and upheld their decision to for awarding the Contract to AnsaldoBreda after all FTA issues were addressed. The revised memorandum to recommend award to the selected car builder is currently being finalized by DPM. Notice to Proceed is scheduled for mid-2012 with delivery of the first prototype vehicles are scheduled to arrive in the last quarter of 2014.

sandman · Aug 13, 2012

AnsaldoBreda is in Italian company, which is a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, itself 30% owned by the Italian government.

Due to the European economic crisis, there is a possibility that AnsalsoBreda could be sold. Hitachi group is said to be trying to buy a stake in the company, which the Italian government appears to be opposing.

There have been reports of problems with AnsaldoBreda delivering cars, including weight, reliability and production delays:

Rail car maker's record spotty

Cities frustrated by rail car maker

yellows2k · Sep 9, 2012

Miami-Dade mayor wants to replace 136 Metrorail cars at cost of $313 million

BY ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez recommended Friday that a contract for more than $313 million be granted to the Italian firm, AnsaldoBreda, to replace 136 Metrorail cars.
Gimenez’s decision, which he announced Friday in a memo addressed to the county commission, is expected to create controversy because another firm that was also competing for the job — CAF-USA, a subsidiary of the Spanish railroad company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles — had protested angrily over a similar recommendation made by the administration of the previous mayor, Carlos Álvarez, of using AnsaldoBreda
CAF-USA protested in March 2011 before the Federal Transit Administration, which ruled in November that county officials had violated federal rules in the selection of the company that would supply the cars. Therefore, FTA said then, the project would not receive federal funds until the county followed the process under the appropriate rules.
Miguel De Grandy, attorney for CAF-USA, told El Nuevo Herald Friday afternoon that Gimenez made a mistake by recommending AnsaldoBreda.
“The county administration recommends a company with a history of performance problems which had also proposed to serve the order from different places and facilities in a way that even the former county railroad director had warned that it would be risky for the county,” De Grandy said.
The core of the dispute was that FTA had concluded that Miami-Dade had broken the rules by selecting AnsaldoBreda over CAF-USA because the Italian firm had offered to build a facility in the county to assemble the new cars while the other competing firm was never informed that building that facility was fundamental to granting the contract.
As a result of FTA’s recommendation, Gimenez decided to have the project reevaluated by the committee that had previously recommended AnsaldoBreda. In December the committee again recommended that the contract be granted to AnsaldoBreda.
Gimenez’s recommendation will go to the commission for a vote within days or weeks.
Besides the dispute over the local assembling facility, critics of the contract with AnsaldoBreda argue that the Italian firm has a reputation for excessive delays in delivering equipment to other cities that had also selected the company.
Yet Gimenez’s memo Friday says that county officials investigated those allegations and concluded that AnsaldoBreda will have no problems building and delivering the new Metrorail cars on time.
“County officials reviewed media coverage of the company’s performance in Los Angeles, Buffalo, Cleveland, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Washington, DC, Holland, Denmark and Norway,” Gimenez’s memo says. “Those articles mention delays in delivery as well as performance problems of the vehicles supplied by AnsaldoBreda.”
But, the memo adds, county investigators concluded that they are confident that AnsaldoBreda will be able to deliver the vehicles in the Miami-Dade contract without problems.
“AnsaldoBreda demonstrated that all their facilities of engineering, manufacture and production have the capacity to handle the Miami-Dade contract,” the memo says. In conclusion, Gimenez says that granting the contract to AnsaldoBreda “offers the best value to Miami-Dade County and the taxpayers we serve.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/09/2993704/mayor-wants-to-replace-136-metrorail.html

langbro · Oct 9, 2012

The Dade regional transportation committee will vote on the new cars on October 15.

If you wish to read almost 900 pages that are being presented:

yellows2k · Oct 15, 2012

Contract for new Metrorail cars moves forward

A committee endorsed the selection of an Italian firm over a Spanish firm to replace 136 aging Metrorail cars.

BY PATRICIA MAZZEI

A group of Miami-Dade commissioners agreed on Monday to award a stalled, $313 million contract for new Metrorail cars to an Italian firm.

The five-member regional transportation committee unanimously signed off on Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s recommendation to hire AnsaldoBreda to replace 136 aging Metrorail cars. The deal now heads to the full, 13-member commission for final approval.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/15/3051371/contract-for-new-metrorail-cars.html

yellows2k · Nov 8, 2012

Miami-Dade commissioners finally approved a long-sought, $313 million deal to purchase 136 new Metrorail cars from Italian firm AnsaldoBreda. Only outgoing Commission Chairman Joe Martinez voted against the item. Most of the discussion centered on a separate — and equally controversial — $25 million test track that would accompany the deal.

Some commissioners opposed spending money on a test track — which was not being voted on Thursday — because they believe the current rail lines can be used for testing. The county currently tests its railcars on existing tracks overnight.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/07/3086814/jmh-annexation-and-metrorail-on.html