After years of study and analysis, the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) concluded that FRA-compliant DMUs would be best suited for the service. The SMART Board issued a request for proposals in April 2010. Proposals were received from CAF, Sumitomo Corporation of America (Nippon Sharyo), Siemens, Stadler, and US Rail Car. Firms were also allowed to submit non-FRA compliant proposals. Siemens had submitted an FRA-compliant design along with the non-compliant
Desiro design. Stadler had only submitted the non-compliant
GTW design.
Sumitomo's proposal had scored best and it was recommended that the SMART Board award them the contract. The SMART Board placed a base order for 18 (later reduced to 14) DMUs in December 2010. [...]
In February 2011,
Metrolinx joined the competitively tendered order by SMART. Metrolinx ordered 12 DMUs for use on the
Union Pearson Express which will link Toronto's downtown to the airport.
[4] The option for six additional DMUs was taken in October 2011 and will allow for six 3-car trains.
[5]
The DMUs begin construction at Nippon Sharyo's Toyokawa facility in Japan. Final assembly takes place at the expanded Rochelle facility in the United States. The first two cars built for SMART were shipped to the United States at the end of spring 2014 followed by those for
Metrolinx in the summer. Metrolinx's cars will enter service on the Union Pearson Express in June 2015, while SMART's will enter service in late 2016.