By 2026, provided the procurement is fully funded and all options are exercised, New Jersey Transit—empowered by an infusion of much-needed funding by Governor Phil Murphy following a starvation diet imposed by his predecessor, Chris Christie—will have replaced its entire fleet of aging single-level cars with nearly 650 new Multilevels, many of which will be powered electric vehicles, the first of their type in North America.
Design and planning work continues on Hamilton’s 10-mile (14-kilometer) LRT line, despite ongoing political uncertainty over the project’s future. Meanwhile, the planned and approved expansion of GO Train service to Grimsby, St. Catherines and Niagara Falls has experienced a recent potential setback. And on Oct. 30, the author, representing Railway Age, visited the Bombardier Transportation rail division plant at Millhaven, Ontario, located a short distance west of Kingston.
Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) has exercised a $340 million (C$448 million) option on an October 2010 contract with the consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom for 153 additional AZUR rubber-tired metro cars, configured as 17 nine-car trainsets. Bombardier’s share is valued at $213 million (C$281 million), Alstom’s at $127 million (C$167 million).
Bombardier Transportation has appointed Elliot G. (Lee) Sander as President of its Americas Region, effective Nov. 19, 2018. In addition to ensuring that the company “delivers on its commitments in the region,” Sander will oversee all sales and business development activities for Bombardier Transportation in the Americas.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently suffered another setback in the delivery of its much-delayed 204-unit Flexity Outlook LRV order. Carbuilder Bombardier Transportation has advised the TTC that 67 of the LRVs have frames that were improperly welded at the company’s Sahagun, Mexico plant. A Bombardier spokesperson stressed that the welding deficiencies do not represent a safety issue (most of the cars involved are presently in service), but could become issues later in the cars’ expected 30-year life spans.
The past few years have admittedly been tough for Bombardier Transportation in North America. Changing dynamics—in particular, China’s entrance into the vehicle market—combined with delivery and quality problems and highly public squabbles with key Canadian and U.S. customers—have impacted the company’s business as well as its reputation. Now, however, Bombardier’s fortunes appear to be turning around.
California’s largest city is making its largest bet on a public-private partnership for autonomous trains.
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) has awarded Bombardier Transportation a five-year, $288 million extension of its current contract to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the Brunswick and Camden Lines of the Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Train Service rail system.
The City of Phoenix has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract for an extension to the PHX Sky Train® automated people-mover (APM) system at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
LRV testing on the new Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) LRT line has been ongoing since late 2017.
