THUNDER BAY – Bombardier expects to supply the Toronto Transit Commission with only 16 completed streetcars by the end of the year, falling even farther being their original delivery schedule.
The company released a statement Monday morning with their revised timeline and plans to utilize a manufacturing plant in La Pocatière, Que. to help supply parts to the Thunder Bay assembly plant.
In the statement, Bombardier said the plan is designed to “significantly accelerate production for the duration of the project” and pledges to have the 204 car order completed by 2019.
Unifor Local 1075 president Dominic Pasqualino said issues with parts arriving from Mexico have been a continued problem and hopes having a Canadian manufacturing plant involved will be a step in the right direction.
“I think we’re all disappointed that the targets aren’t what we thought they would be,” Pasqualino said. “I don’t know what that means for the Thunder Bay plant but certainly the parts coming here from another source is really going to help us out.”
The $1.2 billion streetcar contract, which was signed in 2009, has been marked by missed deadlines by the company.
There are currently only 17 operational streetcars on Toronto rails, despite the original expectation of 73 by the end of 2015.
The TTC voted last fall to launch a $51 million legal claim against Bombardier with the amount representing five per cent of the contract. They also considered barring the company from bidding on future contracts.
Most recently, TTC chief executive officer Andy Byford wrote in his monthly update to the board that the company would be unable to meet their promise of four completed cars a month that had been agreed to just one month before.
Toronto politicians, such as mayor John Tory, appear to be losing their patience.
“It is no way to do business,” he said, according to The Toronto Star. “It is causing great harm to the city . . . It’s frustrating. What more can we do? We are the customer here who signed the contract, we’re paying on time, we’re doing everything we’re supposed to and I really think the questions have to be asked of Bombardier.”
Pasqualino acknowledged the customers have a reason to be frustrated.
“I think Toronto is obviously going to be upset,” Pasqualino said. “They certainly need the cars and I think they’re expecting them a lot sooner than what they are but I think this is a step in the right direction to make sure we can continue to build quality parts and quality cars.”
The La Pocatière site is expected to provide sub-assembly components, such as cabs and frames, for the Thunder Bay plant.
That facility had previously provided the local assembly plant with components for the Rocket subway cars, which Pasqualino said worked well.
