[URBAN NOTE] "Bombardier gets $428M order for GO Transit rail cars"

[rfmcdonald]

As a Torontonian aware of Bombardier's failure to deliver, I'm entitled to be surprised by the article by Ben Spurr in the Toronto Star. More late deliveries?

Metrolinx has placed another order with Bombardier, despite being locked in an ongoing dispute with the Montreal-based rail manufacturer over the delayed production of vehicles for Toronto LRT lines.

Bombardier’s rail division announced Monday that Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, had exercised an option for 125 additional two-level commuter rail cars to run on GO Transit.

The order is valued at $428 million, and is an extension of a $279-million deal announced in 2014 for 65 GO coaches. The new cars are necessary for Metrolinx’s plans to increase GO service across the GTA.

Last month, the Star reported that Metrolinx had issued a notice of default to Bombardier that claimed the company was in breach of contract for failing to deliver vehicles for the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRT lines on time. The agency was originally expecting the first light rail vehicle in the order for up to 182 vehicles in the spring of 2014, but Bombardier has yet to supply one.