AMT cancels $103M contract proposal destined for Bombardier

The agency that co-ordinates commuter trainservices for the greater Montreal region, theAgence mtropolitaine de transport (AMT), has rejected Bombardier's proposal for new trains, a contract potentially worth $103 million.

The AMT is now preparing a new call for tenders with the aim of attracting proposals from foreign companies.

Last December, the AMTlaunched a call for tenders to build new trains for the Candiac, VaudreuilDorion and Saint-Jrmecommuterlines.

Bombardier was the only applicant.

• New light rail system for Montreal by 2020. Seriously?
• Where would Montreal's 24 new light rail stations be located?
• Montreal public transit: Overcrowding getting worse with fewer buses on roads

Bombardier's proposal was rejected because rather than meet the specifications of the AMT, the Montreal-based transportation companysubmitted plans based onthe trainsthey are already building for Toronto'sMetrolinx system.

What the AMT wants

"What the [Bombardier] trains contained did not meet our demands," AMT spokesperson Fanie St-Pierre told CBC's French-language service,Radio-Canada.

The AMT wants computer screens in its trains that show the next station, a communication system and a system which detects the number of passengers in the cars.

The timeline also did not match up with the what theAMT has asked for.

The AMT needsthe trains delivered in less than two years, but Bombardier said itwould need at least six additional months.

Bombardier reacts

"We submitted an offer that we believed was the best possible onewe could submit to our potential customer,"Bombardier spokesmanMarc-AndreLefebvresaid.

"They chose to reject the offer. We don't take any offence to that. Bids are lost and won all over the world every day."

Lefebvreadded that the modifications the AMT wanted required changes in Bombardier's production line which would not be financially beneficial for either party.

Headaches from existing Bombardier contracts

This is not the first time Bombardier has failed tomeetits contractual deadlines.

• TTC boss pushing Bombardier to boost number of streetcars delivered

TheToronto Transit Commission (TTC) is currently embroiled in conflict with Bombardierover its failure to deliver streetcars on time.

The manufacturer was to have delivered 70streetcars to the TTC by now, but it now says it will only be able to deliver 30 of the new cars by the end of this year.

Bombardierhas beenblaming a plantin Mexicofor delivering poor quality or late parts to the Thunder Bay, Ont., facility where the mass transit vehicles are produced.