Bombardier is taking Metrolinx to court over the transit agencyai??i??s ai???threatai??? to cancel a $770-million contract for light rail vehicles.
According to a statement from Bombardier, the Quebec-based company filed an injunction against Metrolinx with the Ontario Superior Court on Friday.
The statement cited Metrolinxai??i??s ai???unjustified threats to terminate our contract.ai???
ai???Bombardier has taken this action to protect our employees, protect our legal rights and to allow for the on-time delivery of light rail vehicles to the people of Toronto,ai??? it said.
Metrolinx responded in a statement of its own, in which the provincially-owned transit agency said it was ai???disappointedai??? Bombardier had taken legal action.
ai???We have been frank in sharing our reservations about their ability to deliver vehicles on time and to a level of quality we expect,ai??? the statement said.
ai???Bombardierai??i??s focus should be on getting the all the vehicles delivered on schedule and with the quality expected, not on legal proceedings of this nature.ai???
Bombardierai??i??s legal gambit comes three months after Metrolinx issued the company a notice of intention to cancel its contract for up to 182 light rail vehicles.
The two parties reached a deal in 2010 for Metrolinx to purchase the cars, which were to run on the Eglinton Crosstown, Finch West and other Toronto-area light rail lines.
But the order has been plagued by delays.
Bombardier has not yet delivered a pilot vehicle Metrolinx says was scheduled to arrive almost two years ago, and the transit agency has publicly expressed concerns about allowing any problems with the order to affect the opening of the Crosstown, which is scheduled for 2021.
In its statement, Bombardier blamed Metrolinx for the setbacks, asserting that the agency has changed the scope and technical specifications of the project ai???countless times.ai???
The company claimed the pilot vehicle was finished, but Metrolinx has refused to take delivery.
ai???The simple truth is (Bombardier is) fully capable of delivering its trains on time,ai??? the statement said.
Bombardier has been unable to deliver vehicles for another Toronto project on schedule. The TTC has placed a $1-billion order with the company for 204 new streetcars, and the agency was supposed to have more than 100 of the vehicles on its property by now. Bombardier delivered the 31st of these this month.
Earlier this week, the federal government agreed to give Bombardier a $372.5-million interest free loan.
The money is intended to support the companyai??i??s aerospace division, which has struggled with delays and cost overruns on its CSeries passenger jet program.
