TORONTO — Alstom will build new subway cars for the Toronto Transit Commission at its Thunder Bay, Ontario, plant, after the TTC cancelled bidding for the contract and elected to award the order to the only company that could build the equipment in Canada.
The move was announced Friday (Aug. 15), with the TTC saying in a press release that the governments of Canada, the province of Ontario, and the city of Toronto and agreed to the move, citing U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty. The TTC informed other bidders of the decision.
Negotiations on the projected Ca$2.3 billion contract for 70 six-car trainsets are expected to take place over the next several months. Alstom will be required to deliver equipment compliant with the original TTC requirements, maximize Canadian contents and job creation, and have pricing subject to an independent third-party assessment.
The order calls for 55 trainsets to be used on the TTC’s Line 2, the 26.2-kilometer (16.3) mile, 31-station Bloor-Danforth line. The remaining 15 trains will be used on the Yonge North and Scarborough extensions. The contract is expected to include options for additional equipment.
“Our government is proud to protect Ontario from U.S tariffs by ensuring the TTC’s Line 2 subway trains will be made in Ontario, by Ontario workers,” said Ontario Minister of Transport Prabmeet Sarkaria. “Working with our federal and municipal partners, we’ll continue to support Ontario workers and businesses while investing $70 billion in the largest subway expansion in Canadian history.”
Canadian union Unifor, which represents workers at the Thunder Bay plant, applauded the decision.
“Unifor fought long and hard to get the federal, provincial and municipal governments to get on board and support a Made-in-Canada solution,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a press release. “We must use our Canadian procurement dollars to support Canadian workers and Canadian-made products, especially given the current trade war…. We need to see more of this if we are to build a more resilient Canadian economy.”
The city, provincial, and federal governments had announced an agreement to fund the equipment order last year [see “Canadian government to help …,” Trains.com, Nov. 30, 2024. Alstom predecessor Bombardier built the TTC’s most recent subway cars, an order completed in 2015.
Let’s recall that with sites in Brampton, Kingston and Thunder Bay in Ontario, in La Pocatière and St-Bruno in Quebec, as well as very long-term, structuring mobility projects and offices across the country, Alstom is a proud Canadian player and the only one with a manufacturing footprint in the country.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Right decision… This will protect Canadian manufacturing jobs, reduce reliance on imports, and invest in Ontario’s transit infrastructure, supporting the province’s long-term growth plans.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün