For the record - March 26, 2009

Train cars: An Op-Ed column by Tim Rutten on Wednesday about a bid by AnsaldoBreda Inc. to build rail cars in Los Angeles cited an article in the Contra Costa Times from “just one year ago.” In fact, the article was from March 14, 2007.

The column said that a recent study of the AnsaldoBreda proposal had put the number of new jobs that would be created in L.A. at 530. It should have noted that that number referred only to jobs filled by people directly hired by the company; counting indirect jobs that would be created, the number is over 2,000, according to the study.

Also, the column said that in bidding for contracts in Madrid and Miami, AnsaldoBreda had promised to build local plants and then never built them. The column should have made it clear that the company ultimately did not win the contracts in those cities.