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Attendees
Awed by Clean, Quiet,
September 25-28 2005, Dallas, TX - Colorado Railcar has amazed the transit industry by bringing the world’s largest railcars onto the exhibit floor at the triennial APTA EXPO show. On display were the self-propelled Double Deck DMU seating up to 188 and the Double Deck Low Floor Coach seating up to 218. Both cars drew admiring crowds, creating quite a buzz throughout the EXPO. Attendees from across the globe visited Colorado Railcar’s impressive 200 ft. long, 20 ft. high booth. International visitors from a variety of different countries, including Thailand, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic were all in attendance to step onboard the world’s largest railcars. “Visitors’ first reaction was ‘how the heck did you get those double decks in here?’” noted Arthur Rader, Director of Sales for Colorado Railcar. The cars also attracted attention from the local media, with TV coverage from news stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and an article on the front page of the EXPO Daily. Having completed their incredibly successful trip to Dallas, these two railcars are set to enter full revenue service for the FRA/Florida DOT.
The incredible success of the APTA Expo 2005 is yet another milestone in the illustrious history of the Double Deck DMU and Double Deck Coach. Not only do these cars pay for themselves in operational savings alone, they were also the only complete railcars to be showcased on the APTA EXPO floor. VIP Visitors included Bill Millar, President of APTA, escorting Congressional staff members, and Tony Kouneski, APTA Vice President – Member Services, who toured the Double Deck cars with members of the transit and local press. Consultants from PB, URS, Hatch Mott, HNTB, LTK & Wilbur Smith, as well as transit agencies such as RTD, NJT, UTA, BART, DART, and CalTrain all visited Colorado Railcar’s booths to tour these revolutionary new railcars that pay for themselves in fuel and maintenance savings. “The Double Deck DMU and Double Deck Coach are beautiful cars. They are great for passengers because they have a lot of glass and very customer friendly features,” commented Jerry Kirzner, Assistant General Manager at Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.
The Double Deck DMU and Double Deck Low Floor Coach are an extremely clean, quiet and efficient alternative for the transit industry. Built for Florida DOT and the FRA, these cars will be utilized for the DMU Demonstration Project being run by SFRTA/Tri-Rail between Miami and West Palm Beach. Members of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority Board, along with Joe Giulietti, Executive Director, were all in attendance to tour these remarkable cars before they begin revenue service in South Florida. Moving these new railcars onto the show floor took a monumental effort by Colorado Railcar. In an extensive 10 day process, the Double Deck DMU and Double Deck Coach were transported to the Dallas Cadiz Railyard near the convention center, where they were lifted off of their trucks by two large cranes and placed upon low-boy trailers. The cars were then transported down the streets of downtown Dallas in the middle of the night in order to avoid heavy traffic. Thanks to DART's assistance, the light rail lines were raised to allow the Double Deck DMU and Double Deck Coach to pass through to the convention center. Once the railcars arrived at the convention center, they were once again lifted by 2 large cranes to assist moving through the doors, where they cleared the opening by a mere 2”. The cars were finally moved into the convention center through an extensive process, moving extremely slowly over the steel plated show floor. This process took two and a half days. The entire process was then undertaken a second time 8 days later for the move back to the railyard. Senior Management of the Dallas Convention Center said that these railcars were the two largest pieces of equipment to ever be moved into this facility.
Colorado Railcar impressed attendees from all over
the world with its Double Deck DMU and Double Deck Coach; these are
the only FRA compliant railcars that have proven that they can pay
for themselves in fuel and maintenance savings when compared to a
locomotive hauled consist. Beyond the economic advantages, the environmental
benefits of these railcars are astounding. In recent tests the new
Double Deck DMU proved what a good neighbor it can be, running 75%
quieter and emitting 72% less pollution than a locomotive hauled
consist. Community residents across the nation will find these new
railcars neighborhood friendly and cost-effective. They cost less
to purchase and save millions in both operating and infrastructure
costs.
Contact Colorado Railcar Arthur
Rader
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