Firm secures £30m US bus contract

The Ballymena firm will supply 50 of its Streetcars to the US

A County Antrim bus building company has secured a £30m order for its new Rapid Transit Vehicle.

The Wright Group, based in Ballymena, will supply 50 of its StreetCars to the Transport Commission of Southern Nevada.

The company also has the prospect of supplying a further 100 of the 62ft long articulated vehicles.

A statement said it had beaten off strong competition from North America and Europe to secure the contract.

First deliveries will be shipped across the Atlantic in early 2008 and the initial order is due to be fully completed by early 2009.

StreetCar is something like an ultra-modern tram but does not need rails.

The vehicles, which can seat more than 100 passengers, will run on hybrid diesel-electric power.

'Cost effective'

William Wright, chairman of the Wright Group, said: "This is a major new chapter for the company and all its employees, both in technical and financial terms as well as further developing our presence in the North American market.

"Importantly, it also underlines the potential for StreetCar as a cost effective and readily deliverable alternative to infrastructure-intensive rapid transit systems throughout the world."

Jacob Snow, general manager of the Transport Commission of Southern Nevada, said StreetCar provided them with a combination of function and style.

"The vehicles are attractive so they will appeal to our riders, and the hybrid engines provide the environmental benefits we wanted.

"The flexibility of the rubber-tyre vehicle with the sleek look of light rail is the combination we were looking for."