A Whole Fleet Of Trolley Cars Down Due To Surging.

Metropolis, BR. August 19th 2014.

The Vintage Bodied PCC Cars Are Down For The Count.

A day late and a trolley short for Metropolis's Trolley System. 78 PCC-2 Streetcars were barned after five trolley cars in separate parts of the system shorted out due to high energy use. Some of the cars were so burned out, they had to be towed by trucks back to the depot since they could not move on their own power. With 78 trolleys temporarily down, the system has restored to completely bussing the entire 3 & 7 Lines out of Gretalinn Depot while other lines are running mixtures of half bus & half trolley service, even for Tunnel routes. The time could not be worse. With school for Metropolis children beginning next week, this could spell a fleet shortage ending up with certain school trips canceled.

There is currently no timeline from Metropolis Transit about when the trolleys will be fixed. All 78 trolleys must be thoroughly checked, tested, and re-checked before entering service again. This is the first time in three years since the trolley cars were rebuilt this problem has happened. Hopefully, it will be worked out in time for school.

Kawasaki To Ironically Rebuild Aging Kawasaki Trolley Fleet

Metropolis, BR. July 14th 2014.

Kawasaki will rebuild trolley they previous made themselves.

In a bit of a laughing irony, Kawasaki Heavy Industries has won the contract to rebuild Metropolis's aging trolley fleet that they had previously built themselves in the 1980s. Favoritism was not factor though in this case, they just happen to be the cheapest guys who can do the job. In a two month bidding period they proposed to rebuild the 155 Trolley Cars at $3.9 Million a piece which may seem a tad pricey but quiet cheap compared to others who bid on the contract. Kawasaki was lowest bidder among Siemens, CAF and FERB. The rebuilding will commence starting the end of 2014 and will continue until 2019 the earliest. The long period of time is due to the fact that only 5 to 10 trolley will be sent out at a time in order to not make the system go into fleet shortage. At the same time, the Siemens trolley cars will be continuing their delivery so their might be a balance to work with.

Kawasaki Trolley on the Rt 82 Line. 

Metropolis Transit's rebuilt trolley will feature new motors, new brakes that reuse and restore the energy it uses, faster speeds, upgraded LED signs, upgraded paint scheme, and updated windows and doors. This will also remove the trolley pole that is currently uses to collect power and upgrade to pantograph power collectors for more reliable service. The incandescent lights in the car will be replaced with LED as well and upgraded wall colors. The first upgraded trolley is set to hit rails March 2015. The upgraded trolley will last until 2025.