The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) Board has approved the assignment of an operations and maintenance management contract to Rio Grande Pacific Corp. (RGPC) for its 21-mile A-Train commuter rail service connecting the Texas counties of Denton and Dallas. RGPC has selected Stadler U.S., Inc. to maintain the 11 GTW 2/6 diesel multiple-units (DMU), which the railcar manufacturer supplied for the A-Train’s 2011 launch.
Under the DCTA agreement, partners RGPC and Stadler U.S., Inc. are taking over the remaining five years of a nine-year fixed-price contract, with a five-year extension option. Six DCTA management employees and 14 engineers and conductors have transitioned to RGPC, and 12 DCTA mechanical and support employees have joined Stadler.
RGPC President Robert Bach said the selection of Stadler U.S., Inc., which holds a similar service contract at Dallas Area Rapid Transit, “will be a model for both companies as we look to the future in the commuter rail industry.”