RTM orders 44 CRRC Coaches for Exo

The first CRRC coaches have arrived:

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/co ... ltilevels/

First Look: Montreal’s CRRC Multilevels
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
February 03, 2022

Early this month, CRRC will deliver the first two of 44 multilevel railcars to exo, Montreal’s regional/commuter rail and bus system.

The agency—officially known as Réseau de Transport Métropolitain, or RTM—placed a 24-car order with CRRC in 2017 and exercised an option for an additional 20 in 2019. Included are eight cab cars and 36 trailer cars. The total order is valued at nearly C$196 million; funding was provided by the government of Québec through the Programme d’aide gouvernementale au transport collectif des personnes (PAGTCP).

The new multilevels, which can accommodate up to 147 seated riders, will modernize the exo fleet and run first on the exo2 Saint-Jérôme line. They “have been adapted to exo’s needs through a collaboration between the project team and the manufacturer, CRRC,” the agency reported. “This substantial order has also enabled a dozen Canadian suppliers, including eight from Quebec, to build and develop partnerships with CRRC. More than 28% of the content in the cars is local.”.........

How did this order get delivered first, despite SEPTA being earlier?

They do things differently in Canada, especially Quebec. These cars are being built in China, and the amount of Canadian supplier content required is only 25%. Buy America regulations are much more stringent, so it's not surprising exo can put cars on the road long before SEPTA. Production at CRRC MA is way behind schedule too - they're better than a year behind on their MBTA orders alone, and they have the SEPTA and LACMTA orders stuck in the pipeline too.

Here's a video of the EXO coaches on CN 305! skip to 0:21 in the video to see it wrapped in black
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyvcNedfc2c

Here's another video where the train knock over the wire pylons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3mWp0qKbQs

How do these compare to the SEPTA coaches?

rcthompson04 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:59 pm How do these compare to the SEPTA coaches?

Slightly different design, SEPTA coaches are more along the NJT BBD design.