Siemens Transportation Systems (TS) is to deliver 21 type S70 low-floor light rail vehicles to Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), the mass transit operator in Portland, Oregon (USA). This order is worth about Euro 58 million.

These 21 S70s will be built at the TS plant in Sacramento, California. The first vehicle is to be delivered in 2008. This order includes an option for three more S70 LRVs and is the fourth successive order that Portland has placed with Siemens. After their delivery, TS-built vehicles will make up more than three fourths of the TriMet fleet.

The two-car semi-permanently-coupled S70 LRV configuration is 58.7 meters (over 192 feet) long, has a low-floor component of 70 percent, and is designed for a maximum speed of 106 km/h (about 65 mph). It will be operated in the TriMet system at a speed of 85 km/h (about 55 mph). The design selected for Portland can accommodate more than 180 passengers (per car), 76 of which can be seated. In addition, it offers enough space for wheelchair users and for stowing bicycles.

Type S70 light rail vehicles may also be found currently operating in Houston and San Diego. Delivery of these LRVs for Charlotte, North Carolina is due to start in summer 2006. Siemens TS is the light rail leader in North America. More than 750 vehicles are already in service in the USA and Canada. Every third LRV in the States is by Siemens. What‘s more, with its plant in Sacramento, the company maintains its own light rail vehicle production facility in the U.S.