Bombardier to Overhaul 63 Kawasaki MARC III Cars

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BALTIMORE, MD (FEBRUARY 4, 2016) – In an effort to improve safety, increase reliability and provide passengers with a more comfortable ride, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Transit Administration has awarded a $36.8 million contract to Bombardier Transportation to overhaul 63 MARC III bi-level commuter rail cars.

No surprise here and overdue. Bombardier overhauled the MARC IIB (the remaining single level) cars a few years ago, and they've seemed to built a pretty close relationship to the MTA with that contract, the MARC IV cars, and the Brunswick/Camden operations contract.

Notably, the MARC IIB overhaul was probably the only MARC equipment contract in the past decade completed on schedule. The AEM-7 rebuilds, MP36 deliveries, MARC IV deliveries, and even the VRE bilevel modifications were all completed over a year late.

I wonder how many cars will be taken out of service at a time. The MARC IIBs were done three at a time. They probably need the MARC IV cab cars to be in service by time they get around to overhauling the MARC III cab cars.