Streetcar re-order won’t have immediate impact on plant: Pugh

The CEO of Metrolinx, the company purchasing light rail vehicles from Bombardier, says there is no timeline for a potential delay in the contract. 

Some workers from the Thunder Bay plant say they've heard the project will be delayed by six months, but Bruce McCuaig says he's not sure where that number is coming from. 

In late March, a revised plan was announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Metrolinx is now in the process of evaluating the total number of cars that will be needed and the delivery schedule for those vehicles.

Meanwhile, local union officials say a re-organization in the streetcar order won't have an immediate impact on the local Bombardier plant. But CAW 1075 president Paul Pugh says the news is unsettling, especially for new employees. 

Pugh says he believes there will not be an immediate impact on the plant, but there may be down the road.

The local plant has about 1,000 employees right now, producing subway cars for the TTC and BiLevel cars for Go Transit. Plant workers are also ramping up to build replacement streetcars for Toronto.  

The number of active workers was expected to rise to nearly 1,300 once all four production lines were running, but Pugh says this latest news may freeze the number of employees.

McCuaig says Metrolinx is committed to carrying on with the light rail contract.