The Toronto Transit Commission’s board members have unanimously voted to begin legal action against Bombardier over continued streetcar delays.
The dispute stems from the Bombardier’s difficulty to meet deadlines in shipping completed vehicles from the company’s Thunder Bay plant to get them in service on Toronto tracks.
According to the $1.2 billion contract, which was signed in 2009, Bombardier was to have delivered 67 streetcars to Toronto. However, there are currently only 10 operational vehicles, forcing the TTC to continue using streetcars past their desired replacement date.
The contract reportedly includes a $50 million late delivery penalty.
Bombardier has repeatedly revised delivery deadlines, ultimately announcing earlier this month they would only be able to have 16 sent by the end of the year. The latest delay was blamed on “crimping of electrical connectors” from a Mexican factory that supplies parts to the Thunder Bay plant.
The motion also includes directing TTC chair Josh Colle to request Bombardier’s CEO to appear before a November board meeting, requesting TTC management to consult with alternative suppliers, request TTC staff to report on financial and operational consequences to the transit commission, seek the advice of a business analyst on Bombardier’s corporate outlook, request TTC to seek additional vehicles from Bombardier as compensation and directing Colle to write to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to seek the province’s cooperation in facilitating completion of the order.
Toronto Mayor John Tory addressed Toronto media outlets prior to the start of the meeting and said he hoped the board would take action.
“When people deliver late on a product like this it has a massive impact on tens of thousands of people in Toronto and on our economy," Tory said.
"We can’t just stand by and let that happen. You wouldn’t anywhere else in life. More than anything else I would like to find whatever the key is to get this company to mobilize more resources, do more things and show an even greater determination to get these streetcars delivered.”
CORRECTION: The updated version of this story reads there will be a total of 16 streetcars delivered by the end of the year. A previous version read 16 additional cars would be delivered.
