A fleet of 61 new train cars expected to modernize the Virginia Railway Express fleet could cost more than expected thanks to cost-cutting measures and surprising additions. Adding wheelchair restraints and outdoor key access to the first 11 cars could cost an extra $350,000, and VRE directors want to know how much those extras will cost on the remaining 50 cars.
Stretching dollars to make the initial batch of cars affordable, the original buy did not include wheel, chair restraints because the Americans with Disabilities Act does not require them, VRE Chief Dale Zehner said.
But since their launch this year, disabled passengers have been asking why the restraints are absent and the VRE is now forced to spend more to add the devices, at $15,000 a pop.
“These are always more expensive after the fact,” Zehner said.
The smart thing would have been to bite the bullet and install the devices initially, said Arlington County Board Member Chris Zimmerman. “If you had asked, I would have said, ‘Put ’em in,’ ” Zimmerman said.
More than half of the price will go to designing the devices at a firm in Japan, which rankled some board members.
New locks on the car doors will also cost about $15,000 per train and a new software system will cost $15,000 total.
With 10 more cars under construction now, board members want to add the restraints during the construction process, while expressing concern the modifications could push the $86 million price tag higher.
The oversight of the rail car purchase allowed board members to express their cost concerns with the purchase of 20 new locomotives at close to $80 million expected in coming years.
