Washington DC Department of Transportation, through Mayor Vincent C. Gray and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Matt Brown, has announced that three teams have been shortlisted for the development of the Integrated Premium Transit (IPT) system.

The three shortlisted consortia are the following:

• Capital Transit Partners: Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure, Inc., FCC Construction, CPT Operators, and Parsons Brincherhoff.

• DC Transit Partners: Clark Construction Group, Shirley Contracting Company, and Herzog Transit Services, Inc.

• Potomac Transit Partners: URS, MC Dean, Facchina, and RDMT.

The IPT will be developed in phases and is comprised of 22-miles of dual/single track fixed guideway, related equipment and facilities, and potentially up to 15 additional miles of fixed guided track. Additionally, the IPT encompasses all local bus services within the District.

To meet the goals of DC's Transit Future System Plan, the IPT builds upon segments currently in construction or planning, establishes priorities for planning and scheduling purposes, and creates a robust system with the maximum number of linkages. The incorporation of local bus services allows the District to provide transit services in a multi-modal, integrated and efficient manner.

The project will be developed on a design, build, operation and maintenance (DBFOM) basis.

According to Mayor Gray, the cuts that the DC Council has made in the FY15 budget only support the construction of a significantly scaled-down system. Mr Gray stated:

"The announcement of the short list of contractors brings us one significant step closer to making the visions for a comprehensive District streetcar system a reality. Unfortunately, this announcement is bittersweet considering the steep funding cuts to the system made by the DC Council. By cutting Streetcar funding by nearly 75 percent, the Council has prevented us from building out the full system over the next 10 years."

DDOT Director Brown commented:

"Moving forward with the IPT is a game-changer in delivering streetcars to the District. Issuing the short list is an exciting first step in the process."