The top management of Doppelmayr Cable Cars (DCC) flew in from Austria for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in Oakland. Construction of the new automated 3.1-mile-long people mover that will provide convenient service between Oakland’s airport and the public transportation hub at the Oakland Coliseum, is scheduled to be completed by 2014. Traveling at a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour, the bi-directional system will initially consist of four trains of three cars each and will carry 1,492 people per hour per direction.
This new contract is DCC’s largest single contract to date as well as that of its 118 year-old parent company, which is the world’s leader in Cable Transit. Competing with Bombardier, Mitsubishi, and Poma/Leitner for the intensely sought-after $ 361 M contract, DCC earned the BART project with its proven advantages and outstanding record, offering the most cost efficient and environmentally responsible solution. In addition, Doppelmayr was awarded a $100 M, 20-year operations and maintenance contract for the system.
DCC and its civil construction and design partner, Flatiron/Parsons Joint Venture, started with the design, engineering and mobilization in November, shortly after the contract was signed on September 23, 2010. It is the third cable car contract for DCC in the US. There are already two DCC cable liner shuttle systems operating in Las Vegas at MGM and Mandalay Bay. – gw/ps
