Metrolinx taps Bombardier for more LRVs
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefBombardier Transportation announced Monday it has signed a US$715 million agreement to exercise an option with Metrolinx for 182 Flexity low-floor light rail transit cars, included in a June 2009 contract. Delivery will begin in 2013, with completion targeted for 2020. And, under the agreement, up to an additional 118 vehicles could be ordered at a later date.
The cars announced Monday are for Toronto’s Transit City LRT lines, and they will be larger than the 204 cars previously ordered for Toronto’s Legacy System. “These are light rail vehicles, not streetcars,” a Toronto source emphasizes. Regardless of the terminology, the new cars also will slowly replace Toronto Transit Commission’s current fleet of 248 cars purchased in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Bombardier is proud to be part of this very important expansion of public transit in Toronto and greatly appreciates the confidence Metrolinx has placed in us,” said Raymond Bachant, president, Bombardier Transportation, North America. “This order further solidifies our presence in Ontario and highlights Bombardier’s proven state of the art light rail technology, which is available to all cities in North America.”
The Flexity cars will provide a step-less interior allowing easy access at street level; car capacity for more than 280 passengers;efficient heating and air conditioning; comfortable interior; enhanced accessibility and safety features; locations for wheelchairs and strollers; active leveling system to ease boarding and exiting; enhanced communications features; and a regenerative braking system that feeds power back into the Metrolinx network.
Final assembly of these additional vehicles for Toronto will take place at Bombardier’s production facility in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
