Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to ask the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to take a second look at an Italian rail car manufacturer, despite warnings from the agency's top executives that the company's cars have significant design flaws.
The Italian rail company, AnsaldoBreda Inc., has marshaled an intense lobbying effort over the last few months, striking alliances with people known to have the mayor's ear and offering to open a rail car manufacturing plant in an industrial stretch of downtown Los Angeles.
The company already holds a contract to provide cars to the MTA.
It began a new lobbying campaign in late January after MTA officials said they were not interested in exercising the company's options to build 100 additional light rail cars, in part because MTA officials say the delivery of 50 cars under AnsaldoBreda's current deal is three years behind schedule and the cars are too heavy.
AnsaldoBreda officials counter that they built the cars to the agency's specifications and the delay is caused by changes requested by MTA.
The agency's executive staff planned to allow AnsaldoBreda's options to build the cars -- a project that probably would have topped $300 million -- to expire March 31.
Villaraigosa, chairman of the MTA board, is expected to ask members either to exercise the options or agree to a two-month reprieve that would allow time to assess the company's performance and gauge the feasibility of their rail factory proposal.
"We are talking about creating thousands of high-paying jobs at a time when local residents need them the most," said Matt Szabo, Villaraigosa's spokesman.
"The mayor believes we need to explore every possible avenue to ensure that the Measure R [sales tax] investment yields maximum benefit for the L.A. economy."
In an interview last week, Roger Snoble, MTA chief executive, characterized the factory proposal as a late-breaking development after the agency decided to consider other rail companies.
With the passage of last year's Measure R, a half-cent sales tax for transit, the MTA needs to order at least 110 new light rail cars and refurbish 69 old cars.
The agency has told AnsaldoBreda it is welcome to compete against other companies for that business.
"The real question is: Are we going to get the original 50 cars?" Snoble said.
