Bombardier wins 30-year Crosstown LRT contract

Bombardier Transportation has won a contract to provide 30 years of maintenance on the Bombardier Flexity Freedom light rail vehicles (LRVs) it will build for service on the new Toronto Eglinton Crosstown line. The contract, which was awarded by the Crosslinx Transit Solutions Maintenance General Partnership, is valued at approximately C$403 million CDN ($US 308 million, €282 million).

For this agreement, Bombardier has been subcontracted by the Crosslinx Transit Solutions Maintenance General Partnership, which is acting as the maintainer of the entire system on behalf of the winning consortium responsible for designing, financing, building and maintaining the 19-kilometer transit line. The project is under the authority of Metrolinx, the Government of Ontario agency responsible for the coordination and integration of all modes of transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), and is part of an investment of C$5.3 billion for capital (construction costs) for the Crosstown LRT, announced in 2010 by the Government of Ontario.

“This is another expression of our commitment to Ontario,” said Raymond Bachant, President, Bombardier Transportation, Americas Division. “This new agreement strengthens Bombardier’s leadership position as a provider of passenger rail services in North America and worldwide. Our strong services portfolio complements our innovative products and technologies, allowing us to form a true partnership with our customers throughout the entire product life cycle and to ensure the highest levels of safety, customer service, on-time performance, fleet availability and reliability,” he added.

In addition to providing equipment maintenance, Bombardier will also deliver its Automated Vehicle Inspection System (AVI System) and its Bombardier Orbiflo advanced condition-monitoring system in order to automatically inspect the vehicles and provide predictive maintenance capabilities. Bombardier will deliver its Flexity Freedom LRVs to Metrolinx through a separate manufacturing contract signed with the transit agency.

Bombardier has a long-standing track record of providing operations and maintenance services to transit systems across North America including Agence Métropolitaine de Transport in Montréal, GO Transit in Toronto and the West Coast Express in Vancouver, the company says. This also includes maintenance services for the Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Train Service, New Jersey Transit, North County Transit District in California, OC Transpo in Ottawa, the South Florida Regional Transit Authority, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and the Central Florida Commuter Rail Transit project (SunRail) Train Service. Bombardier also supports transit systems with overhaul and refurbishment programs and material and technology solutions.