TORONTO — The Toronto Transit Commission will not cancel its $1 billion streetcar order with Bombardier despite a slew of problems, the agency’s chair told a local newspaper.
The TTC must return three quarters — 67 — of the 89 streetcars Bombardier has already delivered. The agency is sending the cars to Montreal, so Bombardier can repair a welding defect, the Toronto Star reported.
“Through the quality testing that we have along the line, we found out this issue, and as a proactive measure, we’re doing the maintenance,” the newspaper quoted Bombardier spokesperson Eric Prud’Homme as saying. “We’re transparent about it, and we’ll assume every cost related to the repair program.”
The streetcars are part of a 204-car order that dates to 1999, according to the Star. The order has suffered from years of delays, according to reports.
“I have made no secret about my extreme frustration with this streetcar deal that was signed by a previous city council back in 2009 and Bombardier’s slow progress in actually delivering the vehicles bought and paid for by Toronto taxpayers,” the CBC quoted Toronto Mayor John Tory as saying.
“TTC CEO Rick Leary is working with Bombardier to ensure these repairs will have little to no impact on our service, and we have been assured this will not affect the delivery of new streetcars.”
Bombardier should deliver all 204 of the new streetcars by next year, the CBC reported.
