Last updated: 8 December, 2025
Jump to update: 30 November, 2025 | 2 December, 2025 | 3 December, 2025 | 8 December, 2025
Back in August of 2017, things looked exciting for the future of Portland Streetcar. Research was underway to grow the system with a new line that would run from Montgomery Park to Hollywood Town Square. As part of that effort and to also fill a desire to have more spare trains available, a contract was awarded to Brookville Equipment Company to build two cars that would start the 030-series of the fleet. The order was a joint one with Sound Transit and Tacoma, Washington, who was looking to add five streetcars to their fleet to support their Hilltop Extension project.
At the time, Tacoma only had three trains, which were the same Škoda 10T cars in use in Portland – they were options Portland had with Škoda and decided not to exercise. With United Streetcar, the manufacturer of the Portland 020-series cars defunct, Portland identified only two options for manufacturers that could produce a car compatible with Portland’s system: Inekon Trams and Brookville. As Inekon didn’t have a US facility for producing streetcars, a purchase from Inekon would not be eligible for federal grants. It was a possibility, but with Sound Transit already in talks with Brookville, it made more sense to place a joint order that would give both Portland and Tacoma a discount for a bulk order.
On March 21, 2018, Council Ordinance 188870 was passed, authorizing the purchase of two cars at a cost not to exceed $10 million. The base cost per car would be $3,313,517. Options, field support, and delivery among other things would be an additional cost that was being negotiated. The two cars were expected to be delivered sometime in 2020. On December 12th, a third car was added to the order at a cost of $3,882,760, this time inclusive of options, shipping, etc. With the third car ordered, it was hoped that weekday frequencies could be improved to every 12 minutes or better on all three lines.
2020 of course became a year no one could have ever predicted with COVID. The impacts of the pandemic, coupled with Brookville being a company of only around 300 employees meant a delay in delivery was inevitable. In 2021, it became known that Portland was currently behind another order that Brookville had received in 2017 from Tempe, AZ. That led me to start searching the web for news of how things were going for Tempe. That search uncovered a problem.
Photos from inside Brookville showed an entirely new train design being used for Tempe. It was significantly more angular and boxy than the sleek curves the original Liberty model from Brookville had. With Tempe starting to receive their cars, a new problem arose: Tacoma would now need to receive their order before Portland in order to have cars in time for the Hilltop Extension.
Tacoma took delivery of their first car in March of 2022, a full year after Tempe’s first car delivery. With the delivery to Tacoma, it was confirmed Portland would be receiving a very different train from the one ordered in 2018. Brookville would go on to call the new design the Liberty NXT, which I can only assume is supposed to be read as “Liberty Next”. Finally, in October 2022 at the far back of another photo from Brookville, the first photographic proof surfaced that Portland’s cars were under construction (it’s the blue train in the far back left). One month later in November, Brookville would deliver the final car to Tacoma.
If Brookville is able to be consistent in exactly one thing, it’s the delivery of a first car. On March 29, 2023, car 031 finally arrived in Portland. It was immediately clear that, shall we say “design choices”, were made to finally get the car delivered. Rather than fill in the empty space for the cyclops light Portland didn’t order, Brookville slapped a cover over it and called it good enough. The 031 numbering appeared to be added simply wherever it fit. Thankfully, it became clear in time for 032 to be delivered that the number would fit in the space for the cyclops light instead.
Now, teething issues with a new train are nothing new. As I said when Melbourne introduced their E-Class tram, I’d be worried if a new train didn’t have teething issues. What I don’t expect is for one of those teething issues to include blowing the power substation every time the train is powered on. Despite the electrical issue, testing of car 031 would begin in April of 2023. That testing would reveal another issue with the car: part of the car was out of alignment and would scrape the entire length of SW Harrison Street. In July, that issue was reported to have been fixed after an engineer from Brookville was flown in to Portland. It was also confirmed that car 032 was under construction and should not have the same issue; Brookville had found part of their shop floor was sagging when 031 was assembled. By December, all three cars were delivered.
All three cars would start appearing on the alignment more regularly for testing by mid-2024. 032 and 033 were originally hoped to enter service in late September, with 031 entering service in late October, pending review of more repairs from Brookville. Ongoing issues with power and the ability to call signals reliably would cause the timeline to slip yet again.
On March 12, 2025, car 032 entered revenue service after nearly seven years of waiting.
It wasn’t ready.
Thankfully, an engineer from Brookville was onboard for its first run as signage issues, electrical issues, and computer issues all contributed to it having to be pulled from service well ahead of its car-in time for the day. Almost 90 days later, car 032 continues to suffer from issues with signage timing and the High-Speed Circuit Breaker (HSCB) tripping when crossing over MAX tracks. The ramp now usually works without deploying randomly or jamming up the door. Both ends of the cars still have flat wheels from operators having issues getting the propulsion and braking to work predictably.
Car 033 entered service on March 26th. It too had signage and door issues. It also had – and still has – the trim around the windows falling off. Car 031 entered service on March 29th. It never had the correct sign file for its first revenue run and had to be brought one on a flash drive before departing South Waterfront. The file did not work, and it only completed one and a half loops of the NS before having to return to the yard for repairs. It continues to have issues with the saloon lighting pulsing randomly, as if suffering from power surges.
Now, to be fair to Brookville, the signage issues have gotten a lot better, and the work they’ve put in to it shows (other than car 031 only communicating with one of the two interior signs). There are still issues with the ramp, but its reliability is much better than before. Operators seem to have realized the doors have a delay in communicating they are closed to the propulsion system.
Yes, three months isn’t a lot of time in revenue service, but for trains that were delivered two years ago and have been in revenue service in Tacoma longer than ours, the Brookvilles are continuing to exhibit defects that should not exist at this point. I know we’re not alone in our issues with Brookville as Tacoma coined a new name for them that has now made its way down to Portland: Brokeville. Ironically, there were discussions in place to trade Tacoma our three Brookvilles for their three Škodas. Tacoma would get a fleet of all Brookville and while we would be getting much older cars, at least the Škodas have been proven to be reliable (Tacoma also takes a lot better care of theirs).
I honestly don’t understand how Brookville could so badly screw up the Liberty NXT when using parts from manufacturers that have been around for years and in thousands of other installs.
The ramps and doors are from IFE – the same supplier of the doors for MAX.
The propulsion is from ABB.
Most of the computer control systems are from Siemens – that same Siemens that also makes trains (like MAX).
Yes, Brookville is a tiny company compared to other rolling stock manufacturers. We’re jointly the first customer for the NXT in this configuration with Tacoma (Tempe ordered a longer variant), which means we are the ones stuck with the bugs. But while I can forgive computer bugs – to an extent – delivering a train assembled out of alignment and a train with interior trim already falling off frankly is inexcusable.
While Brookville looked immensely promising in 2017, Portland was not delivered the train that was ordered in 2018. Instead, we were delivered a fleet that is widely loathed by operators and one that a replacement for is already being sought after. If I knew how much of a disaster the 030-series would actually turn out to be when I voiced support for the Brookville order as part of the now disbanded Portland Streetcar Citizens Advisory Committee (our last official action was recommending the paint colors for the 030-series), I would have recommended Inekon instead.
So yes, I made a mistake in supporting Brookville as the third-generation Portland Streetcar fleet – a $12 million mistake.
Unfortunately, now that the Streetcar CAC is disbanded, I don’t think there will be the same public involvement for the 040-series that will be ordered for the NS Line extension to Montgomery Park. All I know for certain currently is the 040-series will be the first cars in the fleet to support off-wire running. We’ll be keeping an eye on the process at Friends of Portland Streetcar, and now that Stadler has a manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City, I can say Stadler would be our prefered bidder. But, with the Portland Streetcar administrative contract currently up for renewal and TriMet submitting one of the two proposals, I would not rule out a 040-series produced by Siemens.
Update: 30 November, 2025
A fair bit has happened with the Brookville fleet since I originally wrote this back in June. Unfortunately, I didn’t make a record of when the 030-series last ran, but it was either the end of July or the beginning of August that all three cars were pulled from service after a defect was discovered that was reported to me as “a high risk of derailment”. July 24th might’ve been the last day they were in service before being pulled as that’s when I caught 033 as the last car of the night.
In early September, car 004 returned to service as the first of the Škoda fleet to receive the signage and camera retrofits from ISC, who was awarded a sole source for being the same manufacturer Brookville was using. That sole source would become a contract worth just under $4 million, and it too I can now say was a mistake. Car 004 has almost the exact same signage issues as the Brookville fleet. Car 005 has completed retrofitting, but I have not recorded it as in service recently. I expect it will have the same problems.
The 030-series cars returned to service in early October. I recorded 033 as the first back in service on October 4th. I caught 032 on October 7th, and 031 on October 17th. For reasons unknown to me, all three returned to service with the emergency intercoms at the cab ends removed. The intercoms in the low-floor section remained, and while it generally felt like the braking was better than before, the issues with the ramps failing to deploy reliably returned. To be fair, having now seen the signage issues were not unique to the Brookville fleet, I cannot rule out that the door and ramp issues are actually IFE’s fault. The Brookville cars continued to operate through at least October 20th.
I say “at least” October 20th because October 20th is the last photo I have of a Brookville car in revenue service – and it now will likely stay that way. Unfortunately, I don’t have a definite date of when the Brookvilles last ran, but I now expect them to never run in Portland again.
While PSI, PBOT, and Sound Transit have not released any statements as of time of writing, I have now had it confirmed to me by multiple people working for Portland Streetcar that the fleet swap with Tacoma will proceed in early 2026. Tacoma will receive our cars 031-033, and we will receive their cars 1001-1003, Tacoma’s original three Škoda cars that were originally options for Portland. I do not have a firm timeline of when the swap will take place, nor do I know when the Tacoma cars will enter revenue service in Portland. Tacoma’s cars do currently have options that are unique to them, and they may require modification before they enter service here. At the very least, they’ll either need new paint or a wrap to replace the Sound Transit livery; Tacoma will need to do the same to our Brookvilles.
The long-term future for the Tacoma cars currently remains to be seen as they are not accounted for in the current 040-series RFP. To start, the city intends to buy 15 cars, which the RFP currently states is to, “[replace] seven Skoda vehicles, three Inekon vehicles and two United Streetcar vehicles.” My expectation for the two United Streetcar vehicles is car 015 and 024. All 15 cars must be delivered by the end of 2030, but there is language that options could be exercised with an unspecified timeline. With how large of an order the 040-series will be, it is my hope that there are many more proposals submitted from manufactures than just the two currently on the bid holder list: Brookville and CAF. It won’t be until at least March of 2026 that we have any idea who may get the contract. I certainly hope it will not be Brookville, and I will very much be testifying to that should there be an opportunity to do so. The last thing Portland needs is a $60(ish) million mistake.
Update: 2 December, 2025
It’s finally public record. On December 4th, Sound Transit is expected to pass a motion authorizing the vehicle swap between Portland and Tacoma. Tacoma will pay nearly $20 million before tax to acquire our three Brookville cars. Tacoma will make some of that cost back through the sale of, modification of, and transportation costs for their Škoda cars. Sound Transit estimates the entire process will take 2.5 years to complete from day of contract execution. By a very rough estimate, Tacoma’s cars may finish entering revenue service in Portland just in time for the first 040-series car to be delivered. Tacoma’s Škodas have many options Portland does not have, and I do think Sound Transit’s estimate is reasonable for how much work will be involved to get them to match.
Update: 3 December, 2025
KGW has now picked up the story and has several good comments from Andrew Plambeck, Public Affairs Manager, over at PSI.
Unfortunately, KGW’s site is so plagued with ADs and autoplay content, that article is unlikely to fully load on a mobile device, and they have the extremely annoying anti-adblocker software from Admiral. It is worth a read, if you can get it to load.
Update: 8 December, 2025
If you’ve reached this post from The Urbanist, greetings, and thank you for putting up with any 503 errors you might encounter as a result of the traffic spike. I very much owe Ryan Packer credit for first discovering the motion in Sound Transit’s agenda advancing the vehicle swap.
There’s a very important point made in their article by Sound Transit and Portland Streetcar that I do think is fair for them to both point out:
“Officials from both Sound Transit and the Portland Streetcar have pointed to the fact that the cars were initially designed to run in Tacoma, suggesting that issues with the Brookville cars won’t necessarily follow them from Oregon into Washington, and that the Sound Transit maintenance teams are much better equipped to handle issues that do come up.”
In theory, Tacoma’s car 2001 was supposed to be Portland’s 031, but the manufacturing of the cars was so behind schedule that it is probably unlikely. However, car 031 did arrive in Portland with software on the signs intended for Tacoma, as did car 032. I don’t recall at this point of 033 also did, but the cars often could be spotted showing “Old City Hall” while undergoing testing, with the Sound Transit logo on the interior signs.
Because of that, I am hopeful that Tacoma will have a much easier time getting our cars in to service. There are things that will have to be added back, like the cyclops light, but I’m not aware of any truly major differences between Tacoma’s cars and Portland’s.
Likewise, I don’t foresee Portland having too many issues getting Tacoma’s Škodas in to service as I mainly expect there will be things to remove, like the cyclops that was later added after delivery, or their CCTV system and maybe emergency intercom (since ISC has been replacing those as part of the camera and signage retrofits here in Portland).
I also wanted to add to a comment I made in Packer’s article:
“‘Considering that Brookville is the only option I am aware of in the U.S. for if you have a system that isn’t built to accommodate a longer vehicle offering from CAF and their Urbos rolling stock, I think you’re going to have a difficult time finding an agency willing to go on record detailing issues with Brookville,’ Weber said.”
To the best of my knowledge, Brookville is the only manufacturer in the US that makes a service-proven vehicle suitable for what I’d call a “Portland-spec system”. That vehicle was the original Liberty Streetcar. I wouldn’t call the NXT service-proven yet, but maybe Tacoma will be able to make it one.
However, in looking in greater detail at CAF’s Urbos 3, it does appear that there is a variant that should be compatible with Portland’s system (especially now factoring in how heavy the Brookville cars were). Kansas City and Cincinnati’s systems are what I’d call “modern-spec” with vehicles that are about 77 ft long (versus 66.5 ft for Portland’s vehicles).
That said, CAF is currently one of the bid holders for the 040-series RFP, and I would not rule them out as a viable option. I do think the 040-series RFP is going to play an important part in the future of other streetcar systems in the US, both those existing and those [hopefully] to come. There are manufacturers here in the US who could make a vehicle (or variant thereof) compatible with Portland’s system, such as KINKISHARYO’s ameriTRAM (not currently service-proven however), Stadler’s TINA or TRAMLINK, Alstom’s Citadis or [originally Bombardier’s] Flexity, or even Siemens if they brought the Combino over to the US (or its successor, the Avenio).