Bombing Bombardier

[Jeff Smith]

At some point, I'm going to carve out current manufacturer forums, but for now, I'll place this here:

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Bombardier’s rail business’ reputation problem just got worse

Bombardier’s bad break-up with London’s transit authority in 2013 reared its head again this week. A budget committee report accused the Montreal plane-and-train maker of misrepresenting its ability to upgrade the Tube’s signaling system. In the end, Transport for London, which was also chastised for its handling of the contract, paid Bombardier $160 million to get out of the deal before hiring a competitor to complete the work. The British transportation agency cited Bombardier’s “shameful performance” while London mayor Boris Johnson went further, saying Bombardier “totally stuffed it up.”

The public tongue lashing comes at a bad time for Bombardier. It’s been hammered by delays and cost overruns relating to its slow-selling C-Series aircraft, forcing it to seek billion-dollar bailouts from the Quebec and Canadian governments. But as the London mess demonstrates, Bombardier’s rail business hasn’t always been a smooth ride either—though it should be noted big transportation projects are often prone to delays and setbacks, not all of which are Bombardier’s fault.

Here are five other examples where Bombardier’s rail business ran into trouble.

Read on for the five examples, but just to list, they are:

Toronto Transit
Swiss Federal
Metropolitan Transit Authority (New York City Transit)
City of Phoenix
Amtrak Acela