I have been asked, on occasion, why these three streetcar LRVs are so similar, but yet were produced by three different manufacturers. The answer, is relatively simple, and it all stems from failed partnerships and production/design licensing.
From 1996 to about 2001, the Czech companies Škoda and Inekon operated a partnership to design and produce modern trams known as Škoda-Inekon. Inekon handled design work, and Škoda handled the construction.
When this partnership broke up, and the inevitable lawsuits were filed, both manufacturers continued to produce and market the same trams under their own names using almost the same equipment as each other. With the exception of minor cosmetic changes, the two competing products are interchangeable with one another.
United Streetcar, of Portland, OR, licensed their design from Škoda, which is why many of the details reflect the Škoda version over the Inekon one.
The tram is a bi-directional 70% low-floor tram. This means that only the center section is at curb level and 2 steps are required to climb to the end sections above the truck assemblies. However, this also allows for full-width gangways between tram segments and increased seating as all the equipment has space under the carbody floor and doesn’t require space inside the passenger compartment.
Sound Transit Škoda 10T Bi-Directional Tram
Seattle Streetcar Inekon 12-Trio Bi-Directional Tram
Portland United Streetcar 10T Bi-Directional Tram
The most evident difference between the Inekon and Škoda versions are centered around the operator cabs. This area is also differs between the Škoda and the United Streetcar variants, but to a much lesser extent.
The Inekon version has a shorter front windshield, a more rounded face, and the lights are all grouped in a pyramid formation. The side windows are also much shorter in order to work well, design wise, with the front windshield.
The rooftop fairing on the Inekon models is also shaped differently from the Škoda/United Streetcar variants.
Between the Škoda 10T and the United Streetcar 10T trams, the only real differences have to do with the style of headlights (more a factor of newer technology being applied) as well as the center of the nose between the lights, where the windshield wiper is attached. This is flat on the Škoda trams and slightly recessed on the United Streetcar versions.
Of special note, Portland’s Streetcar system, is the only one in the world who actually operates all three varieties of the same tram.
