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TO: |
Board of Trustees |
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THROUGH: |
Jay Fox, Executive Director |
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FROM: |
Jon Larsen, Chief Capital Services Officer |
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PRESENTER(S): |
Jon Larsen, Chief Capital Services Officer |
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Kyle Stockley, General Manager of Maintenance |
TITLE:
title
International Travel to Valencia, Spain and Basel, Switzerland for Light Rail Vehicle Manufacturing Inspections
end
AGENDA ITEM TYPE:
Other Approval
RECOMMENDATION:
To approve of the proposed international travel as presented.
BACKGROUND:
On October 23, 2024, the board of trustees approved a contract with Stadler US to procure new light rail vehicles for UTA’s TRAX system. According to the agreement with Stadler, First Article Inspections (FAI) are the best practice step in the Design Review process of all major light rail vehicle systems and subsystems and are mentioned in this contract to be conducted by both UTA and Stadler representatives. As such, the First Article Inspections of the Carbody and Truck Frames are scheduled to be conducted at Stadler’s manufacturing facility in Valencia, Spain, sometime between July 19 and August 5, 2026.
This project represents the first time Stadler light-rail vehicles will be manufactured specifically for the U.S. market. Adapting their designs and processes to the U.S. regulatory and safety framework introduces critical technical considerations. Ensuring compliance with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements demands a high level of scrutiny.
A successful review requires multiple areas of specialized expertise, including vehicle engineering, systems integration, safety certification, manufacturing quality, and regulatory compliance. A multidisciplinary team is essential to prevent costly redesigns or delays later in the program. The four employees recommended for this trip have been carefully selected to blend the necessary technical experience and skillsets for a successful inspection.
We are sending employees who have experience delivering rail vehicles. When the car bodies arrive at the facility in Utah, the work will continue. Fleet engineering and maintenance teams will be on site to review the assembly process and ensure the technical work aligns with the contract requirements.
DISCUSSION:
During this visit, the Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) carbody and truck frames will be inspected to confirm manufacturing readiness and compliance with contractual requirements and applicable standards. The inspections will also verify dimensional accuracy, documentation completeness, finish quality, and overall preparedness prior to production release.
In addition to the inspections in Valencia, Spain, the trip will include a short technical visit to Basel, Switzerland to review carborne safety systems relevant to UTA vehicles and support alignment with current industry practices.
Specific inspections / evaluations to include the following:
• FAI Kickoff & Raw Carbody Inspection with confirmation of weld quality and structural readiness baseline
• Dimensional Verification of as-built geometric compliance
• Primer, Paint & Configuration with validation of finish quality and configuration control
• Structural Integrity, Mass & Packaging with confirmation of structural compliance and shipment readiness
• Documentation Review & UTA Sign Off for FAI completion and authorization to proceed
• Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) Benchmark Review
• CBTC Evaluation and Closeout
• Firm dates for the FAI are currently being finalized by Stadler and will be provided to UTA once confirmed.
Participants:
• Kyle Stockley, General Manager of Maintenance
• Bryan Sawyer, Director of Fleet Engineering
• Ryan Gardner, Fleet Engineering Supervisor
• Sharanjit Saini, Director of Capital Vehicles
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Delaying the inspection: This could potentially cause significant changes to the production schedule and ultimately delay the receipt of the finished vehicles.
2. Waiving or altering the Contract requirement: Besides skipping one of the most critical steps in the design process, waiving the FAI requirement or not conducting it at the manufacturer’s location could increase the risk of expensive rework effort, that could result in schedule delays and cost increase.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Planned expense as part of the project - approximately $6,000/person - includes airfare, hotel, per diem and ground transportation - $24,000 approximate total.
ATTACHMENTS:
• FAI Agenda 2026