Has Trudeau “Caved-In” To Bombardier?
Bombardier Inc. is in trouble with their aircraft program; are near bankruptcy and need cash.
So what is the Federal government going to do?
Simple buy Bombardier’s light-metro and call it light rail.Ai?? The same ruse certainly fooled the Social Credit Party in BC in 1980 by renaming the unsellable Urban Development Transportation Corporation (UDTC a Ontario Crown Corporation) Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS or light-metro) to Advanced Light Rail Transit (ALRT).
Sad fact is, this name change ruse still fools TransLink, as well as MLA’s!
What ever the City of Montreal want to call the dated and now obsolete SkyTrain, it is definitely not light rail.
To quote Quebec transit advocate Avron Shtern: “This is scandalous. Everything will be done in secrecy. No public consultationAi?? when it matters. Public pension money is being used and is being framed as private enterprise. If Quebec were in Latin America, it would be run like a Venezuela, etc… “
And the federal Liberals? Well, they are paying for this and have certainly given Quebec a “wink and a nod” to go ahead and are no better than their BC provincial namesakes.
Good old SkyTrain Mk.2 cars with coaches (Mk.3) and pantograph – definitely not LRT.
Montreal May Get ai???Light Rail Linesai??? From Downtown To The West Island
On the Champlain bridge, too.
by Michael D’Alimonte Ai?? March 17, 2016
People have had plenty of gripes with the new Champlain bridge (the overall budget, tolls) but one feature may make up for all of the woes accompanying the major building project:
Two special light-rail lines may be built on the bridge that will allow Montrealers to easily reach both the West Island and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport from Downtown, according to the Gazette.
Talks are set to begin on the feasibility of creating such a public transit service, with the the light-rail project headed by institutional funds manager La Caisse de dAi??pA?t et placement du QuAi??bec and the City of Montreal.
An estimated cost for the construction of the light rail lines is set at $5 billion, with the project inspired by a public transit study carried out by the AMT and the City of Montreal.
Gawds the amount of money thrown at Bombardier it should be nationalized into a Crown Corp or folded up entirely..
Actually this is a on going story that started 2 years ago. You can rest assured there will be no Skytrain like faux light rail in Montreal. Since last January the public pension office has been saying that they would start funding certain rapid transit projects, if they made sense to fund them. That picture of a Skytrain like train has been making the rounds for 2 + Years. The $5 billion price tag comes from the fact that the pension system, Caisse de depot de placement du Quebec, is combining 2 different projects, the LRT for the Champlain Bridge (12km length) and the West Island Rapid Transit Project (16-20 km length) into a single project. They have already stated that they would invest up to $4 Billion for both projects. This is a positive thing because either project will not happen without the pension money. The conditions are that “they”, The Caisse de depot de placement du Quebec, have operational control of the construction project and most likely final say about whom runs the rail line. They have also stated that in no way will it be ART 300 Automated Light Metro Technology, they stated it plainly last year, in February of 2015 that, they know what LRT technology is and is not! The pension plan will not be using ART 300 technology, regardless what the politicians want.
The reason the picture of the Skytrain technology has raised its ugly head again is that it suits them to right now. A few of the production lines in Montreal that were responsible for making the ART 300 technology and the related ART 300 Automated Monorail and People Mover technology was one the many production lines closed during the last round of production cutbacks. These cutbacks had been expected “worldwide”, for at least a decade! Bombardier is far from in trouble, the ground transport division is actually quite healthy. Currently, the Bombardier Surface Transportation Group has no fewer than 5000, Freight Engine, High and Medium Speed Intercity Passenger Railway, Metro, Light Metro, LRT, Monorail and People Mover System orders, throughout the world. The panic is in Montreal, because the Skytrain technology has lost ground worldwide. All at the same time Bombardier got rid of no fewer than 49 different production lines in Europe alone. They had to because these were factories mostly acquired through the purchase of many smaller companies over the last 2 decades. Many of these plants located in Eastern or Central Europe were so small and or under performing that, that many knew it was just a matter of time before these plants were closed. With less than 100 orders for the ART 300 Light Metro technology in the last decade and with the possibility of maybe, 100-200 more over the next decade, maybe, many in Montreal had feared that the next few years would be tough. 100-200 orders is just not enough over the next decade for this product line. Sure enough last month, these lines got the axe. I WILL SAY AGAIN, THEY ARE STILL GOING TO PRODUCE THE SKYTRAIN TECHNOLOGY! BOMBARDIER IS JUST NOT GOING TO HAVE SEVERAL PRODUCTION LINES OPERATING AT LESS THAN MAXIUM CAPACITY ALL THE TIME, WAITING FOR AN ORDER! THEY WILL STILL MAKE IT, IT WILL JUST COST MORE. THIS IS DUE TO THE EXTRA COSTS WHEN YOU RETOOL A NEW PRODUCTION LINE AFTER YOU CHANGE PRODUCTS. THE COSTS WILL BE ADDED TO THE TOTAL COST OF ANY NEW SKYTRAIN ORDER!
Keep in mind, not only is Trudeau a Prime Minister, he is a Montreal Area MP. He wants what is best economically for his riding, just like yours does for your riding, Trudeau just has a lot more political pull. Montreal workers have lost jobs and he is probably trying to throw is weight around for his constituents, just like your MP would. All the really large transit vehicle producers get some political pull there way from various levels of government in many countries. Transit vehicles and their production is and will always be a half political and half technical exercise. Believe me, none of these companies are clean. Both Alstom and Siemens, Bombardier’s main and largest transit vehicle competitors have pulled some “over the top”, political moves over the years to gain vehicle contracts. All you can do is slap them hard on the hand when they get caught.
Guys, grow up! These are very large vehicle builders, corporations that have to spend $10’s of Billions to just to bring a product from the design stage to market. $5 Billion ($C) for up to 28 km of rail transit line is unfortunately, “chump change” now a days! The next time you get on an airliner for example, remember this, if its a medium sized long haul airplane, like a AIRBUS A340, a Boeing 777 or 787, that individual plane your are being shoehorned into, probably cost that airline, $90-100 million.
Or if you want to replace a wheel (flange) on your favorite LRV during maintenance. The cheapest ones that Bombardier, Alstom, Siemens, Kinikisharyo, CAF, Breda, or any of the major LRV builders use, costs between $300-500 each. Airplanes and trains last longer than your cars because, the materials are better, built at a higher quality and only end up producing around, 500 units a year worldwide, even for a highly successful product. Not like your Honda or Ford that produces 40,000-50,000 units per year, for each of the their main product models for the North America market alone. This is the one main reason why most families can even begin to afford a car because of the large production numbers, lowering the per unit cost to a level that is somewhat affordable. How much would your Ford cost if only 500 models were made a year? People are often surprised at the cost of a simple 12 metre or (40 foot) non articulated low floor bus. Its usually between $550,000-650,000 per bus, depending on the order size and the maintenance package costs and the manufacturer. Well in Canada and the US last year, around 6200 bus units of all sizes, types and manufacturers were ordered, by the largest 150 transit agencies, that is it! Any surprise that it costs $550,000-650,000 per bus. Oh, they still have to last, at least 12 years, before replacement or the bus is considered a lemon. Rail vehicles 30-40 years!