METRO's latest choice of light-rail car vendors?...

...umm, not so great.

The agency seems to be paying dearly for its choice to not continue with Siemens as its manufacturer of light-rail cars.  While the situation on our side is not yet hampering light-rail service, CAF, the Spanish company now building our light-rail cars, is woefully behind in order fulfillment.

Yesterday's METRO Regular Board Meeting featured about an hour-long discussion between the Board and METRO's chief administrator, Terence Fontaine (meeting video here).  While Mr. Fontaine was not on the hot-seat whatsoever, he was the unfortunate soul who had to regale the Board and the public on just how behind CAF is.

However, CAF seems to have wised up, especially in the light of a recent visit by Fontaine and Board Members Spieler and Ballanfant to Spain.  Building new facilities like mad, the Spanish company seems from the tenor of the Board meeting to be doing its level-best to make things right.  I have a great feeling, though, that if it does not get the job done and done with high-quality rail-cars, there will be hell to pay.

Of course, the burning question is was it worth the money 'saved' to not go with the proven work of Siemens, and why did the agency think it best to do so?  Inquiring minds want to know.  :-)

This situation is dire.  If CAF delivers lemons, the opening of the East and Southeast Lines could, in my estimation at least, be delayed by who-knows-how-long and would be a disaster from which METRO could not recover in terms of reputation if nothing else for years, year, and years.

And in terms of the coming change in Mayor, it could bring System Re-imagining crashing down before it ever has a chance to be built up.  Should CAF's cars fail and/or delivery be even-more delayed, the next Mayor could be of a mind to appoint a Board that would nix System Re-imagining altogether because of public pressure.  Not sure how that could happen, but one never knows.

Hopefully, I'm being a bit over-dramatic.  And again, it appears things are on the upswing with CAF and how seriously it now views the situation at-hand.  We shall see.