Via Rail's Fleet Renewal Program

[mdvle]

I would guess those options are for the questionable VIA owned line that has been proposed.

[NeoArashi]

I don't know about the political pressure - Bombardier hasn't been chosen in Quebec for the last 2 projects and I suspect that the Bombardier name (at least in rail) has such a bad reputation with the general public that it would be a brave politician that forced a Bombardier choice.

It's also worth noting (perhaps as a warning to the politicians) that Bombardier also betrayed a politician. My recollection is the then mayor of Toronto (David Miller) did everything to give Bombardier the streetcar contract in a large part for supporting Canadian workers. Of course Bombardier then outsourced much of the work to Mexico.

10 months late response, but Bombardier really like to hoot itself on the leg lately. Bombarider begs the Quebec and Canadian governments for money ''To keep jobs inside Canada'' and when they get their money (Literally billions), they lay off thousands of people in Canada and even have the nerve of raising (or attempting to raise) the executives' salary by almost 50%.

I'm not surprised Via Rail decided to give the contract to that german company for the latest contract. >_>

[marquisofmississauga]

I don't know about the political pressure - Bombardier hasn't been chosen in Quebec for the last 2 projects and I suspect that the Bombardier name (at least in rail) has such a bad reputation with the general public that it would be a brave politician that forced a Bombardier choice.

It's also worth noting (perhaps as a warning to the politicians) that Bombardier also betrayed a politician. My recollection is the then mayor of Toronto (David Miller) did everything to give Bombardier the streetcar contract in a large part for supporting Canadian workers. Of course Bombardier then outsourced much of the work to Mexico.

10 months late response, but Bombardier really like to hoot itself on the leg lately. Bombarider begs the Quebec and Canadian governments for money ''To keep jobs inside Canada'' and when they get their money (Literally billions), they lay off thousands of people in Canada and even have the nerve of raising (or attempting to raise) the executives' salary by almost 50%.

I'm not surprised Via Rail decided to give the contract to that german company for the latest contract. >_>

Bombardier is seriously late in delivering the new streetcars for Toronto. They have been outsourcing a lot of the work to Mexico (so much for keeping jobs in Canada) and they have blamed the Mexico plant for the delays. Problems have already been discovered and a few streetcars at a time are being sent to Bombardier's Québec plant for correction. Again, they are blaming the Mexico plant for those problems.

[dowlingm]

Bombardier twitter got a bit snippy when I pointed out that they could only wrap themselves in the flag so tightly while keeping Transportation Division headquartered in Berlin.

[mdvle]

And to further justify not going with Bombardier, to no surprise really the first LRT is late being delivered to Metrolinx for the Eglinton project.

The idea that 6 will be delivered this month must be amusing for somebody.

Two months after Bombardier announced the first vehicle for Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT was almost ready, the car has yet to be shipped, and the Quebec-based manufacturer now has just weeks to meet a deadline to deliver half a dozen of the new cars.

Under the terms of a $392-million contract agreed to last year, Bombardier is supposed to supply Metrolinx with 76 vehicles for the Crosstown, the $5.9-billion midtown light rail line that is currently under construction and is scheduled to open by September 2021.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/1 ... hicle.html

[R36 Combine Coach]

Bombardier twitter got a bit snippy when I pointed out that they could only wrap themselves in the flag so tightly while keeping Transportation Division headquartered in Berlin.

It was based on Montreal until 2001 (and still has major operations/offices here), but is basically AdTranz taken over BBD's North America (pre-2001) rail operations. At least with the AdTranz merger, Westinghouse's transportation division in Pittsburgh (West Mifflin) lives on.

[mdvle]

Bombardier is seriously late in delivering the new streetcars for Toronto. They have been outsourcing a lot of the work to Mexico (so much for keeping jobs in Canada) and they have blamed the Mexico plant for the delays. Problems have already been discovered and a few streetcars at a time are being sent to Bombardier's Québec plant for correction. Again, they are blaming the Mexico plant for those problems.

Which begs the question why the Mexican plant is still involved in the contract given all the additional costs - both direct and to the reputation - that Bombardier is incurring.

I suspect the issue really comes down to the Quebec government, and perhaps the new government under a new party will bring a fresh approach. But they really need to draw a line in the sand and be willing to let Bombardier fail as it certainly appears that will be the only way to get some long overdue ownership/management changes made.

[R36 Combine Coach]

Bombardier is seriously late in delivering the new streetcars for Toronto. They have been outsourcing a lot of the work to Mexico (so much for keeping jobs in Canada) and they have blamed the Mexico plant for the delays. Problems have already been discovered and a few streetcars at a time are being sent to Bombardier's Québec plant for correction. Again, they are blaming the Mexico plant for those problems.

From other published articles, the aluminum car shells for the TTC streetcars are actually built in Mexico and assembled in Thunder Bay, though Thunder Bay is already a facility specializing in aluminum construction. Even the BART cars in Plattsburgh have the shells from Mexico, not Thunder Bay.

[eolesen]

Apparently it's still worth the hassle when you consider the labor and industrial/environmental laws in both locations.

From a quality standpoint, I've owned several vehicles "assembled" in Mexico and never had issues with them. There's anecdotal evidence that locomotives or cars are suffering from being manufactured there vs. Canada or the U.S., and anytime you open up a new(er) facility with a less experienced workforce, you'll see some issues initially, but that almost always falls by the wayside as they gain experience.

[dowlingm]

R36 am looking for a firm cite but I believe the Flexity frames are steel, not aluminium.

[Jeff Smith]

Aging fleet needs replacement: MontrealGazette.com

Time is running out for Via Rail cars from a bygone era

The train cars and locomotives must be replaced or long-distance and inter-regional service will suffer, Via says.
...
The purpose is to highlight the work done by the Montreal crew, but there was also a clear agenda: to highlight the fact the aging equipment is coming to the end of its useful life. Via officials tell reporters that despite the great work of maintenance workers, they had to scrap 25 train cars after a recent inspection because they were too old. Other cars are likely to be called back at the next inspection, and the fleet is already not running at full capacity because the old cars have not been replaced. A long-distance train can pull as many as 20 passenger cars.

“At a certain point, they have to be replaced. They’re about 75 years old. That’s more than double the lifespan of most other train cars,” Via Rail spokesperson Jean-Vincent Lacroix said. “We have to salute the work of the teams here who perform miracles, but these trains are at the end of their lifespan.”
...
Most of the train cars were inherited by Via when the Crown Corporation was created in the 1980s. They date back to the 1940s and ’50s, when rail travel in Canada was one of the only ways to see the country at an affordable rate. Entering the cars transports riders to another time, with vintage posters advertising Canadian destinations and tables with checkerboards painted on them.
...

[MACTRAXX]

JS - The Montreal Gazette article about VIA Rail Canada's rail car fleet is interesting - BUT:
(The over-use of the awkward - and frankly ANNOYING - term "Train Cars" not withstanding...)

The aging passenger cars being referred to are the former CP 1950s era stainless steel cars that were
built by the Budd Company - and were conveyed to VIA in the middle 1970s when VIA was formed...

It was once easy to identify the former CP and CN cars - the CP cars were primarily stainless steel.
The CN cars were painted steel - in VIA service these were referred to as "Blue" cars in the VIA color scheme.

Most if not all of the former CN cars have long since been retired...The CP cars have been overhauled and
rebuilt in the VIA HEP Program to be compatible with other HEP, LRC and Renaissance Cars...

It would be interesting to see an updated VIA Rail Canada rail car roster to see what the current fleet status
is for the former CP cars and the other older stainless steel cars that were added to the HEP fleet...

In closing even sturdy and dependable cars such as the former CP and other stainless steel cars have an
age limit - some of these cars (The "Park" Dome-Observation cars are perfect examples) should end up
being preserved in private or historic rail venues after VIA finally retires them after decades of service...

MACTRAXX

[electricron]

The aging passenger cars being referred to are the former CP 1950s era stainless steel cars that were
built by the Budd Company - and were conveyed to VIA in the middle 1970s when VIA was formed...

It would be interesting to see an updated VIA Rail Canada rail car roster to see what the current fleet status
is for the former CP cars and the other older stainless steel cars that were added to the HEP fleet...
MACTRAXX

How about this wiki link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_V ... ling_stock
Former CP with few exceptions Budd built stainless steel body railcars
Park series sleeper-dome-lounge 1954 1978–present 12 8702–8718
Baggage cars 1954–1955; 1963 1978–present 19 8600–8623 8600-8617 are ex-Canadian Pacific; 8618-8623 are ex-Union Pacific Budd slab-side baggage cars.
Skyline series dome car 1954–1955 1978–present 14 8500–8517
Dining cars 1955 1978–present 12 8401–8418
Manor series sleeping car 1954–1955 1978–present 39 8301–8342
Château series sleeping car 1954 1978–present 27 8201–8229
Long-distance coach cars 1947–1955 1978–present 43 8100–8147 Mostly ex-Canadian Pacific, some rebuilt from ex-American coaches. HEP1
Corridor coach cars 1947–1953 1993–present 23 4100–4125 Acquired from Amtrak and other operators. Cars 4123, 4124, and 4125 were converted into club cars, numbered 4007, 4008, and 4009 respectively. HEP2
Corridor club cars 1947–1949 1993–present 10 4000–4009 Acquired from Amtrak and other operators. HEP2

I would like to add several Park and Château cars were refurbished to Prestige class, I have no idea how many, but you probably could research it more and find out. Not every one of these specific cars were refurbished to Prestige class.