This is the order AMT cancel with BBD some time ago and could be another death nail for Thunder Bay. The cars will be built at CRRC plant in Springfield Mass that goes into production this year to do Boston Subway train order. They just got another order for SEPTA bi-level cars.
Maybe Metrolinx will look at a tender for future bi-level cars now.
CRRC got this order as well on cost was delivery time. BBD wanted 30 months well CRRC was able to do it in 24. Able and have done it are two different things.
Les Affaires
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https://www.lesaffaires.com/bourse/...bombardier-echappe-le-contrat-de-l-amt/594936>
Trains de banlieue: Bombardier échappe le contrat de l'AMT aux Chinois
English Translation
Suburban trains: Bombardier escapes AMT contract from Chinese
Published on 15/05/2017 at 14:55
New tile for Bombardier. Les Affaires learned that the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), which is responsible for the commuter rail network in the Montréal region, has awarded the Chinese company CRRC a mandate to manufacture 24 new cars, which Bombardier also coveted.
The AMT's preference for the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) was formalized by signature on Thursday, May 11, the same day that Bombardier held its annual meeting of shareholders in Dorval. Bombardier was one of only two bidders to respond to this AMT tender but failed to win the bid.
The Chinese CRRC was the lowest bidder, confirms agency spokesman Fanie St-Pierre. It has committed to manufacturing all 24 of the two-tiered cars ordered for $ 69 million. The amount of this invoice is well below the $ 103M that the AMT had planned for its project in its last capital program.
"We are very happy with the result," said Ms. St-Pierre. In such a context, even if no one knows the future, it is hoped that we will be able to complete this project of acquiring new cars without cost overruns. "
The cars ordered are intended for the commuter train lines of Candiac, Vaudreuil-Dorion and Saint-Jérôme. Some will be designed to accommodate users with reduced mobility. Delivery of the first cars must start no later than 24 months after the contract is signed, ie in the spring of 2019.
Bombardier Transportation's local management joined the headquarters of St-Bruno-de-Montarville and did not wish to comment, arguing that the contract had not yet been granted. "The parties have been informed, but the contract has not yet been formally signed," said Bombardier spokesman Marc-André Lefebvre. "All I can tell you," he said, "is that we have presented the AMT with a more competitive proposal, taking into account the lifetime cost of vehicles." See later reaction: Contract To China: Angry Bomber
In December 2015, the AMT published its first international tender for these two-level cars. At maturity, in March 2016, the AMT had received only one proposal, that of Bombardier, which was deemed non-compliant. Bombardier's proposal apparently did not meet either the technical specifications or the delivery schedule.
In May 2016, the AMT decided to cancel the process and after consultations with various manufacturers, in particular Korean and Chinese, the agency decided to restart the invitation to tender process. At maturity, on March 24, 2017, two proposals were received, those of Bombardier and CRRC.
Between the two appeals, the AMT alleges that it made a number of changes. Among the most important: a reduction in the Canadian content requirement. So, from one call for tenders to the next, Ms. St-Pierre confirmed, the Canadian content required for this contract has gone from 25% to 15%.
"It was absolutely right to demand 25% as we had first done," says St-Pierre. But as the industry standard is apparently more around 10%, 15%, several manufacturers have refrained from submitting their applications. "
CRRC is the world's largest manufacturer of rolling stock. The Chinese state-owned company is currently building factories in Chicago and Boston after snatching orders also coveted by Bombardier.
In 2009, it was one of its subsidiaries, Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive, which had wanted to participate in the tender of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) for the renewal of cars in the Montréal metro. After many twists and turns, the consortium, consisting of Bombardier and Alstom, finally won the stake.
The Bombardier share was trading at $ 2.16 shortly before 3 pm on Monday, up 1.89%, or $ 0.04. Since the beginning of 2017, its stock has declined by 1.85% on the Toronto