Bombardier asks court to stop Metrolinx cancellation

Firm blames transit agency for project delays

TORONTO • Bombardier Inc. has turned the tables on the Ontario government’s transit agency, filing a court injunction to stop Metrolinx from terminating a $770 million contract and saying it, not Bombardier, is responsible for the project’s delays.

Metrolinx formally notified Bombardier in November of its intent to cancel a contract for 182 light-rail vehicles, citing “significant quality and manufacturing issues.” The trains were designated for new Toronto rail lines, including the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRT routes. The pilot vehicle for the Eglinton line was originally supposed to arrive in 2014 but has been delayed multiple times.

Bombardier said Friday that Metrolinx is responsible for the problems that “have put the project in jeopardy.”

“Since the contract was signed in 2010, Metrolinx has changed the scope, the timelines, and the technical qualifications countless times,” Bombardier said in a press release announcing that it has asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for an injunction.

“It is irresponsible for Metrolinx not to discuss issues in good faith and instead consider an unjustified cancellation of a contract that would cost Ontario taxpayers millions of dollars, kill hundreds of Ontario jobs, and put transit projects like the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch LRT in jeopardy.”

Metrolinx shot back that it has been concerned “for some time” about Bombardier’s ability to deliver a quality product on time.

“We have repeatedly conveyed our disappointment to Bombardier on its progress to date and in particular that the pilot vehicle is almost two years late and has not yet been delivered,” Metrolinx said in a statement. “Bombardier’s focus should be on getting all the vehicles delivered on schedule and with the quality expected, not on legal proceedings of this nature.”

Bombardier said it is “fully capable” of delivering the trains on time, adding that the pilot vehicle has been ready since October 2016 but Metrolinx refuses to take delivery.

The company added that the Eglinton Crosstown tracks won’t even be available for testing until 2019 and won’t be available for public service until the end of 2021.

“The bottom line is Bombardier will be delivering cars that Metrolinx will not be able to use for years, resulting in significant storage costs for Ontario,” Bombardier said.

Company spokesman Marc-André Lefebvre said more than 200 jobs in Kingston, Ont., and Thunder Bay, Ont., are at risk if the contract is cancelled.

Both Metrolinx and Bombardier have come under public fire recently. Ontario’s auditor general found in November that Metrolinx is overpaying its contractors, and continues to award work to contractors that have performed poorly in the past.

Bombardier, meanwhile, has had to delay a $1.2-billion order from the Toronto Transit Commission for 204 new streetcars multiple times. Under the original schedule, Bombardier should have delivered 109 by the end of 2016 but instead had delivered just 30.