VIDEO: Light-rail cars arrive in Norfolk

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Photos by Hyunsoo Leo Kim

NORFOLK

They're modern, sleek, and unlike any transit vehicle the area has seen.

Locals were introduced to The Tide light-rail cars today when the first two arrived in Norfolk. The cars traveled cross country by freight train from Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. in Sacramento, Calif.

Flooding in Atlanta and the derailment of another train in North Carolina delayed their delivery, but city and transit leaders vow the trains will run on time once they start operating here a year from now.

Another seven vehicles will arrive, mostly two at a time, over the next several months. Their cost, including spare parts, is $36 million.

With a service launch set for October next year, the vehicles will be stored until the route is electrified and testing of the cars and tracks can begin. Construction of Norfolk's $288 million starter light-rail line, from the medical complex west of downtown to the city line at Newtown Road, just hit the 50 percent completion mark.

The trains, about twice the length of a traditional bus, are shipped covered in a blue protective shrink-wrap. The wrap was removed once the cars were off-loaded onto the light-rail track near Ballentine Boulevard. The cars were then towed along the track to an area near Norfolk State University where they will be stored.

The first vehicle to arrive is expected to be No. 407, the number of the last streetcar that ran in Norfolk in 1948. The final run went from downtown to Ocean View at midnight, and by the time it came to a stop, it was looted. Memento hunters unfastened the car's leather straps, light fixtures and advertising placards. Late-night revelers kicked out windows and tore out seats.

"I wanted a historical link with the last streetcar that ran in Norfolk and the first one that will run on these tracks," Norfolk City Councilman W. Randy Wright said.

For now, the cars will be parked on tracks behind NSU where the light-rail maintenance and storage facility is being built. There will be 24-hour security and lighting to prevent vandalism.

A fenced rail yard that is part of the facility could be ready to accept the vehicles by late November, although the building will not be finished, said Mike Perez, Hampton Roads Transit's director of light-rail maintenance.

Perez said the cars will have to be moved along the track at least every 60 days to circulate the lubricant in the axles. They'll also be moved periodically to allow construction of the train line to progress.

The first area that will be electrified, probably after the first of the year, will be a section between Brambleton Avenue and Ballentine Boulevard that will serve as a test track, Perez said.

Both static and dynamic tests will be conducted as part of the basic commissioning of the vehicles to identify and fix any defects. As the light-rail line gets built out and electrified, there will be system testing as well as operator training.

"People will be seeing light-rail vehicles running on the rails well in advance of opening," Perez said.

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com