Uh-oh.
United Streetcar months behind schedule on streetcars for Portland's eastside line
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 6:14 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 7:56 PM
Brad Schmidt, The Oregonian
Clifford Jones readies a crane for undercarriage testing of the first domestically manufactured streetcar in about 60 years. Jones, who handles quality control for Oregon Iron Works' United Streetcar, is one of about 100 employees or subcontractors working on the streetcar project. Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian
Portland's $148.3 million eastside streetcar line will open ceremoniously in September, but it's increasingly unlikely that the star of the show -- America's only domestically produced modern streetcar -- will be ready.
Officials for Clackamas-based United Streetcar acknowledged this week that work on their first five streetcars is months behind schedule. Representatives for the city's streetcar division remain hopeful that at least one of the vehicles will be ready for the line's Sept. 22 opening.
The setback is just the latest as United Streetcar, a subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works, attempts to break into a sector that's traditionally been monopolized by European companies. Design problems already prompted city leaders to delay the line's opening by five months and reduce the number of cars from six to five, while barely trimming the $19.5 million budget.
"We're not on the schedule we'd like to be," said Carter MacNichol, a consultant with Shiels Obletz Johnsen, which is managing the project for Portland. But, he added, "it's an extremely challenging effort. I just can't emphasize that enough. There's a reason there haven't been car builders in the United States for decades. It's difficult, difficult work."
Officials for Oregon Iron Works echo that, pointing to initial challenges with the propulsion system to subsequent efforts matching 3-D computer models to actual streetcar design.
"We will not compromise safety or quality simply to meet a schedule," said Corey Yraguen, president of Oregon Iron Works.
Despite its lack of experience, United Streetcar has become a savvy contractor and political darling. The company has secured contracts in Tucson, Ariz., and Washington, D.C. Last year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood even starred in an online video promoting United Streetcar as "made in America, by American workers, who know how to manufacture the best kind of streetcars anywhere in the world."
But United Streetcar has yet to manufacture a single vehicle and work has been anything but smooth.
Officials expected United Streetcar to deliver all five vehicles to the city for initial testing by June 5, according to the contract's payment schedule. But none is ready.
In fact, United Streetcar has yet to complete wiring and begin stationary testing for the first car -- which should have happened by Dec. 30, according to the payment schedule negotiated last year.
The most pressing contractual deadline is July 10, the date Portland is supposed to take formal possession of the first streetcar. Officials say that won't happen, either, and they're instead targeting Sept. 8.
The contract calls for four of the five cars to arrive before the line's scheduled opening. But MacNichol said United Streetcar may have only one or perhaps two vehicles ready for service.
"Once they figure it out, they think they can really crank it out," he said of finishing the first car. "That said, I'm not guaranteeing we're going to hit that schedule. We still have a lot of uncertainty in front of us."
At United Streetcar's headquarters, Portland's streetcar shells have been assembled and painted in bright neon colors. Inside the first streetcar, wires dangle overhead as workers finish key connections.
"It looks like, geez, look at all these wires," said Yraguen, the Oregon Iron Works president. "Most of this is so you can test it."
Yraguen said he has a "high level of confidence" that the streetcar will pass stationary testing and move to the company's new on-site test track by the end of July.
United Streetcar has used its Portland contract to parlay business across the country.
It has a $29.9 million deal for streetcars in Tucson, although a copy of the contract obtained by The Oregonian shows that all seven body shells were supposed to be finished in May. Yraguen said only one is complete, but declined to talk in detail about the contact.
In December, leaders in Washington, D.C., initially blessed an $8.7 million contract for two vehicles from United Streetcar. But officials later backtracked when streetcar manufacturer Inekon challenged the award.
The Czech Republic company noted that United Streetcar had a "lack of basic qualifications and experience" and should have been disqualified on technical merits. Even so, Washington D.C., leaders pushed through a separate deal in April by piggybacking on Portland's existing contract and avoiding another competitive process.
Officials there decided that United Streetcar had the appropriate qualifications -- technical and otherwise -- "as demonstrated by their satisfactory performance on other municipal government contracts," according to the contract summary.
If United Streetcar doesn't deliver its Portland vehicles on time, the city could charge damages of $300 per day. But Dan Anderson, a spokesman for the Portland Bureau of Transportation, said officials must wait until after the contract expires Oct. 30 and will have no comment until then.
Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who previously questioned progress on the streetcars, said he hopes the investment pays off. But only time will tell.
"The verdict's still out," he said, "on whether this was a wise move or not."
-- Brad Schmidt ; On Twitter
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