CTA rail cars built from scratch at New York plant
Production will soon increase to one car a day

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.

— Tucked away near a cemetery and behind wartime-era houses that have seen better days, this is the place where the new CTA rail cars are getting their start in a life that will span at least 25 years on the rails of Chicago.

Traditional off-the-shelf rapid-transit cars up to 85 feet long wouldn't be able to cut the tight curves on the Loop elevated tracks. So the 48-foot rail cars that Bombardier Transportation is building at its sprawling Plattsburgh plant in upstate New York are custom-made for the CTA.