Suburban streetcar bids may delay Toronto lines
Tess Kalinowski
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
The search for streetcars to run on Toronto's new Transit City lines could soon be back to square one, potentially delaying the opening of light rail lines on Sheppard East, Finch West and Eglinton Ave., according to the chair of the TTC.
The TTC has a $1.22 billion contract with Bombardier to replace its fleet of 204 streetcars. The contract includes an option to negotiate for as many as 368 more LRVs to run on the new suburban Transit City routes owned by the province.
But the Transit City LRVs require less customization because those routes don't have the steep hills and tight turning requirements of the existing 11 TTC streetcar lines, said Metrolinx CEO Robert Prichard.
The provincial agency has power and ownership over all new transit projects, including vehicles, in the Toronto region. It is working with the TTC on specifications for Transit City cars. When that's settled – a process that will take months – Metrolinx will pick either Bombardier, the TTC's preferred supplier, or seek other bidders.
Metrolinx has "the ultimate authority" for the Transit City LRV specifications and getting "a price that's fair to the people of Ontario for that car," Pritchard said.
If Metrolinx opens a new bidding competition that "would almost certainly cause a delay to the opening dates for Sheppard and Finch," said TTC chair Adam Giambrone.
Sheppard, the first line, is expected to break ground in the fall and open in 2013.
A new procurement also likely would delay the Eglinton Crosstown line because the TTC can't design the tunnelled section of that route until the car design is complete, he said, adding that even short delays on the light rail lines will cost tens of millions.
Although more suppliers might be able to provide the less technically demanding Transit City cars, opening the door to a potentially lower bid would cost the TTC some of the efficiencies in maintaining a single fleet of vehicles, Giambrone said.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/665607