Kansas City streetcar vehicle delivery facing short delay
Kansas City officials had hoped the first streetcar vehicle would arrive Thursday, but that’s not going to happen.
They now hope for delivery next week.
Streetcar Authority spokeswoman Donna Mandelbaum said the vehicle needed a last-minute fix and must pass another test scheduled for Tuesday before it can be put on a truck later in the week for delivery from the manufacturer in Elmira, N.Y.
“We’ll know more by the end of (Tuesday) on how the testing of the vehicle has gone over in Elmira and will be able to let you know when it should be in Kansas City,” Mandelbaum said.
She said she could provide no further details, but the delay should not be many days.
The city has purchased four streetcar vehicles for its $100 million streetcar system that will run from River Market through downtown to near Union Station.
Officials originally had hoped the first of the four vehicles would arrive in June, but the manufacturer, CAF USA, encountered a variety of setbacks as it assembled the vehicle from components that come from a plant in Spain.
The manufacturer at one point said it couldn’t deliver the first vehicle until December, but Kansas City officials said that was unacceptable and pushed to get the first vehicle by the end of October.
The city still hopes all four vehicles can be delivered and tested in time to carry the first passengers in spring 2016, in time for the Big 12 basketball tournament.
Lynn Horsley: 816-226-2058, @LynnHorsley
This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Kansas City streetcar vehicle delivery facing short delay."