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Thunder Bay's Bombardier plant has been chosen as the final assembly point to build more light rail vehicles for Toronto.
The rail and aviation manufacturing giant announced June 14 it has signed a $770-million agreement with Metrolinx to exercise the option for an additional 182 vehicles included in a June 2009 contract.
The news was announced in Thunder Bay in mid-June, at a press conference attended by Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne.
The vehicles will be delivered between 2013 and 2020. Under the agreement, 118 more vehicles could be ordered at a later date.
Metrolinx is a provincial board responsible for implementing Toronto's regional transportation plan.
The vehicles ordered are Bombardier Flexity trams. The module bi-directional cars are 28 metres long and 2.65 metres wide, with capacity for 280 passengers.
The cars have a step-less interior allowing easy access at street level, especially for wheelchairs and strollers.
These vehicles are already in use in many cities in Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Turkey, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
"Bombardier is proud to be part of this very important expansion of public transit in Toronto and greatly appreciates the confidence Metrolinx has placed in us," said Raymond Bachant, president of Bombardier Transportation, North America in a statement.
"This order further solidifies our presence in Ontario and highlights Bombardier's proven state of the art light rail technology, which is available to all cities in North America."
