Controversial company wins new MTA rail car contract

Link: Controversial company wins new MTA rail car contract - Pasadena Star-News

Controversial company wins new MTA rail car contract
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/25/2009 04:06:33 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES - County transit authorities have voted to award a contract for new rail cars to the same company that failed to deliver all the rail cars the county purchased in a previous deal.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority board authorized its staff Thursday to finalize the contract with Italian manufacturer AnsaldoBreda in the next 30 days. The contract is for 100 new rail cars for local rail lines.

The company had previously been awarded a $158.7-million MTA contract in 2003 to deliver 50 light rail cars by 2007.

It has delivered only 27 of the those 50 cars - and each car is 6,000 pounds over the MTA's weight specifications. They are also incompatible with other MTA rail cars and cannot operate on its Green and Blue lines.

County Supervisor Michael Antonovich voted against the contract, calling it a "return to sleaze" for the MTA. He was one of only three MTA board members to vote against the contract, with eight in favor.

The contract had been up for discussion at several past meetings, with various board members reprimanding the company both for its work in the last contract and for accusing a competitor of having ties to Iran.

To make up for past problems, the company agreed to provide the MTA a $300 million financial guarantee. If the company does not deliver the cars according to contract terms, the MTA could use the guaranteed credit to recoup the cost of the contract.