Ottawa taps Alstom for LRT equipment
Written by Douglas John BowenAlstom said Wednesday it has finalized a contract to supply 34 Citadis Sprint light rail transit cars to the city of Ottawa, in a deal worth $533 million to the company.
The contract includes a 30-year maintenance services package which Alstom will supply to the Rideau Transit Group (RTG) consortium(1) that was selected to design, build, finance, and maintain the first line of the Ottawa system.
Alstom said the Citadis Spirit being introduced for the first time into the North American market will have several features meant to address Ottawa’s “particular needs.”. Designed in a high-capacity version, it will be able to operate in extreme winter conditions, and will offer top speed of 65 mph), which observers note is faster than the seemingly arbitrary 59 mph top speeds assigned to many North American LRT lines. The Citadis Spirt also offers low-floor accessibility and onboard bicycle storage, Alstom said.
“This project marks the successful entry of Alstom into the North American Light Rail Vehicle market. Alstom will bring its experience as the market leader in tramways. The Alstom Citadis Spirit light rail vehicle is very flexible and can be adapted to the needs of other cities across North America.” said Alstom Transport North American President Guillaume Mehlman.
Construction of the Ottawa LRT project is expected to begin this spring, with revenue service anticipated in the spring of 2018.
