TTC aims to get light-rail project back on track
'We will likely be able to have a contract later this year'
Allison Hanes, National Post Published: Wednesday, August 06, 2008
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TTC chairman Adam Giambrone doesn't expect the awarding of a streetcar contract to be delayed more than "a couple of months."Peter J. Thompson, National PostTTC chairman Adam Giambrone doesn't expect the awarding of a streetcar contract to be delayed more than "a couple of months."
The TTC has begun new negotiations with three streetcar manufacturers and expects to get its derailed $1.2-billion light-rail project quickly back on track, the transit commission's chairman said yesterday.
The open proposals process collapsed last month over problems with front-runner Bombardier's bid, but Councillor Adam Giambrone (Davenport), who chairs the TTC, doesn't expect the awarding of a contract to be delayed more than "a couple of months."
Mr. Giambrone said discussions are already taking place between the TTC and three light-rail manufacturers: Montreal-based Bombardier, which had its bid rejected over fears its trains would derail during tight-radius turns on Toronto's narrow old tracks; as well as German company Siemens and French multinational Alstom, neither of which submitted proposals for the $1.2-billion project.
"We will be presenting our way forward at the Aug. 27 commission meeting, at which point we will make a recommendation to have negotiations over the next couple of months with one of the three, two of the three, all of the three," Mr. Giambrone said. "And then we will likely be able to have a contract later this year."
That's not much different from the timeline originally prescribed by the scrapped proposals process, he added.
But some have expressed concern that the stalling of the submissions will delay the delivery of the 204 low-rise streetcars that are supposed to be rolled out by 2012.
Councillor Karen Stintz (Eglinton Lawrence) has written letters insisting a light needs to be shone on what went wrong with Bombardier's bid that caused the process to fall apart. She said there needs to be an understanding of what went wrong with the proposals process before it can proceed.
But Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre), a member of the TTC board, said he thinks such criticism is a "red herring."
"It seems to me that the process is working and has worked really well," Mr. Thompson said, adding that it is better to find out in the early stages if there are risks to public safety because of derailment.
Likewise, it is better to take a bit longer and get the design specifications right, which is why he said he is not overly concerned that the awarding of the contract will be unduly delayed.
"As long as we get it right within a suitable timeframe," he said. "I think that we ought to afford the staff the time to do it right as opposed to hurry it along.
"It's unfortunate that we now have to go back to some degree, though not all the way back to the drawing board."
The TTC needs to purchase two versions of the same model streetcar: one standard model that will be used on new light-rail lines and another modified version that can navigate the existing track system.
Mr. Giambrone said getting the new "off-the-shelf" model is the priority because it needs to be ready to roll when the new light-rail line along Sheppard Avenue is completed.
"To be honest if there was a two-month delay, a four-month delay -- nobody wants a four-month delay -- but it's not the end of the world," he said. "These ones will continue to operate, we'll continue to maintain them. It becomes harder with each year passing by. But if it takes an additional six or seven months -- and I don't know if it will even take that long -- but if it were to, it wouldn't be the end of the world. What would be the end of the world would be if we didn't have new cars for when the Transit City lines start opening in 2012."
A Toronto Police enforcement campaign to focus attention on road safety involving TTC vehicles has resulted in thousands of tickets against motorists. Some numbers:
34 Toronto traffic deaths this year.
50 Percentage of those 34 deaths who were pedestrians.
2,790 Number of offence notices issued in 2007.
3,975 Number of offence notices issued since 2008 campaign began on July 21.
1,452 Number of tickets issued in 2008 campaign for driving in high-occupancy lanes.
1,326 Tickets for motorists making prohibited turns interfering with transit vehicles.
54 Tickets for passing streetcars while the doors were open.
185 Tickets for failing to clear intersection.
1,321 Tickets for 'no stopping,' 'no standing' and 'no parking' or 'standing in designated TTC routes.'
Source: Toronto Police