Vancouver Skytrain | 721 million contract for Bombardier

Julian Arsenalt
The Canadian Press

Its engineering center in Saint-Bruno, a southern suburb of Montreal, will be involved in the design, instead the assembly will take place at its facilities in Kingston, Ontario, which will also take up some of the design.

“Bombardier’s Kingston site is the center of our expertise for linear induction motor propulsion technology,” company spokesman Anik Robinson said by email. Additionally, the test lane for this type of car is in Kingston. ”

The press release announcing the deal with Translink did not mention the La Pocatier plant when Bombardier Transportation was about to enter the fold of Allstom on January 29th. The order for 205 cars comes with another 400 units to choose from.

Kevin Desmond, CEO of the transportation systems company in Vancouver, said it was “the largest aircraft supply order to date”.

“These new cars for the Skytrain network will not only help replace our aging cars, but also prepare the Metro Vancouver transportation system for network expansion,” he said.

Bombardier designed and supplied the original system for the Skytrain.

Om^{To me} In the past, other company plants, including the one in Plattsburgh, United States, have already called for the assembly to be held when the workload in Kingston is “too heavy”. High “.

Last September, Bombardier workers in La Pocatier‌ and the mayor of the municipality, Sylvain Houdan, went on a public outing seeking Quebec help to avert the unfortunate outcome.

By June, after the completion of the second order for Azure cars from the Montreal Metro, only a handful of employees will appear on site, the union is particularly concerned. Today there are about 350 in this factory.^{To me} Robinson. The site had more than 1,400 workers in the early 2000s.

The union president could not be reached for comment at the La Pocatier plant on Monday afternoon.

In order to increase the factory’s order book, the Montreal Metro has requested the Legalt government to intervene with its workers and local authorities to revive the car fleet and expedite the need for local content. At least 25% for future public transport deals such as the extension of the Quebec City Tramway and the Metropolitan Express Network to promote the La Pocatier site.