The transit agency hasn’t cancelled its $770-million purchase from Bombardier, which as a result of a lawsuit brought by the manufacturer is now tied up in a dispute resolution process. But Del Duca
said allowing both purchases to go ahead simultaneously would provide Metrolinx with a backup fleet that guarantees it will have enough vehicles to open the Crosstown line by 2021.
Del Duca called it “a creative and prudent approach to dealing with a less than ideal situation.”
Bombardier maintains that Metrolinx had no need to seek another supplier, and says it will be able to supply all 182 cars the agency ordered in 2010, 76 of which would run on the Crosstown line.
In a statement released Friday the Montreal-based company said it had addressed its previous manufacturing problems and was “ready, able and willing to deliver these vehicles to the people of Toronto on time.”